Napoli Held by Frankfurt, Champions League Not Yet in Antonio Conte's Favor

NAPLES, WEDNESDAY – In his coaching career, Antonio Conte has never had good fortune when leading teams in the Champions League. That "curse" seems to persist for Napoli in the 2025-2026 season. For two consecutive matches, "The Little Donkey" has failed to win on the European stage.

Recently, Napoli was held to a goalless draw, 0-0, by the German visitors, Eintracht Frankfurt, on Wednesday (5/11/2025) WIB, at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Napoli was clearly favored in this fourth match of the initial phase.

They hold the status of champions of the Italian League and are currently at the top of the standings in the highest tier of Italian competition. On the other hand, Frankfurt arrives in southern Italy with a record of conceding five goals in their last two Champions League matches. Frankfurt was defeated by Liverpool and Atletico Madrid with identical scores of 1-5.

Napoli, despite suffering a humiliating 2-6 defeat at home to PSV Eindhoven, had briefly held their first home victory by defeating Sporting Lisbon 2-1. However, that positive result could not be repeated in their second match in this season's European competition at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

The result of the draw against Frankfurt further emphasizes Conte's contrasting situation in domestic and European competitions. Conte's record in domestic leagues, specifically in Serie A and the Premier League, is quite remarkable. He achieved a 67 percent win rate in Serie A and a 63 percent win rate while managing Chelsea in England.

The collection of his victories in the Champions League is quite low for a coach of world-class status. Conte has only recorded a 35 percent win rate from 46 matches in the most prestigious club competition in the world.

"We have to realise that this season is much more difficult," Conte told Sky Sport Italia about his team's failure to translate their good Serie A form to the continental stage.

The goalless draw against Frankfurt marks Napoli's second consecutive scoreless draw. Last weekend, they were held to a 0-0 draw by Como. The match also took place in Naples.

Napoli appeared focused on achieving victory. They managed to collect 80 percent possession in the first 15 minutes. Overall, for more than 90 minutes, the Little Donkeys maintained a significantly superior ball possession compared to the visiting team, with a ratio of 64 percent to 36 percent.

The creation of 18 shots also demonstrates Napoli's dominance that Frankfurt could not match. The German team could only make seven attempts in the final defensive zone of Napoli.

Although the creation of opportunities was heavily imbalanced, Napoli and Frankfurt actually faced very minimal dangerous threats. Frankfurt first had a dangerous opportunity through a shot from substitute winger Ansgar Knauff in the 73rd minute.

The unmarked shot across the face of goal was saved by Napoli goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.

Napoli responded with a shot from Scott McTominay in the 83rd minute. Without significant obstruction, McTominay failed to deliver a precise shot from inside the penalty area after receiving a cross from Andre-Frank Anguissa.

In the last minute of the match, 90+5, forward Rasmus Hojlund had a chance to score the winning goal for his team. His shot inside the penalty area was successfully caught by Frankfurt's goalkeeper, Michael Zetterer.

Regardless of the shared outcome of one point, Napoli and Frankfurt were both able to record their first goalless match in the Champions League this season. Both teams also accumulated the same number of points, which is four points.

Conte criticized the defensive playing style implemented by Frankfurt under the management of Dino Toppmoeller. According to him, Frankfurt did not present the identity of German football.

"I expect a different playing style from the German team. They have learned to play the typical Italian defensive style. If we were to play like that, people would call us outdated," said Conte.

Faouzi Ghoulam, former midfielder of Napoli, believes that Napoli's performance is far from their best display in Serie A. He identifies the dangerous players of Napoli as the midfield duo, McTominay and Anguissa, while the offensive players have not played a significant role in helping the team pursue three points.

"Their rhythm is too slow. Their attacking play is very poor, especially considering they're playing in front of Diego Maradona's fans," said Ghoulam, who played 159 games with Napoli between 2014 and 2022, as reported by Corriere dello Sport.

Toppmoeller has no issue being referred to as playing in a typical Italian style by Conte. "I think we executed the Italian tactics very well. We are proud to have matched the Italian champions and the leaders of Serie A on their home ground," said Toppmoeller as reported by the UEFA website.

"Defensively, I'm satisfied. However, we should have been sharper in attack, especially when it came to Knauff's chances," he continued.