Conte focussed on Serie A after Napoli's Champions League exit

Injury-hit Napoli must now refocus on the defence of their league title following their ignominious Champions League elimination, coach Antonio Conte said.

Napoli blew a 2-1 half-time lead that would have been enough to qualify for the competition's play-offs before losing 3-2 at home to Chelsea on Wednesday.

A slump in form has seen Napoli win just one of their last seven matches in all competitions, and they have dropped to fourth in Serie A, nine points behind leaders Inter Milan, and only hanging onto a Champions League qualification place by one point.

But such are their injury problems -- they had only three senior outfield players on the bench against Chelsea -- Conte was defiant about his record at the club in the last 18 months.

"Every one of us is doing his best. During this footballing disaster we've won a league title and an Italian Supercup in a year-and-a-half, so people need to be careful with their words," Conte fired back at reporters following their Chelsea defeat.

"Playing without 13 players, many of them important ones, and going toe-to-toe with Chelsea playing a European-level match, that's the most important thing.

"Despite the difficulties of this season, from the beginning of which we've had serious absences, in the end we're continuing on our journey and growing."

And Conte has a clear goal in mind, ahead of Saturday's visit of relegation-threatened Fiorentina.

"It will be a battle to play in the Champions League next year, we need to play well to earn the possibility of being there again," he added.

It was a chastening night for Italian teams in the Champions League on Wednesday, with none qualifying directly for the last 16 through a top-eight league stage finish.

Inter were close thanks to an impressive 2-0 victory at Dortmund, but now join Juventus and Atalanta in the play-off round.

By comparison, five of the six English Premier League clubs finished in the top eight places.

The leaders travel to Cremonese on Sunday with a five-point gap to second-placed AC Milan, who are away to Bologna on Tuesday.

Juve, who have been on a charge since Luciano Spalletti took over in late October, have won 11 of their last 15 matches in all competitions. They travel to Parma on Sunday, while third-placed Roma are at Udinese on Monday.

Player to watch: Federico Dimarco

Inter Milan's captain has overcome the disappointment of last season's Champions League final humiliation against Paris Saint-Germain to spearhead the Nerazzurri's Serie A title-charge this season.

The 28-year-old wingback has managed six goals and seven assists this season, putting him top of the table for goal creators in Serie A.

He also reached a little landmark in Europe in midweek with his goal against Dortmund.

That was the first goal scored by an Italian in the Champions League direct from a free-kick for more than 11 years.

The last one had been scored by former Roma captain Francesco Totti in November 2014 against CSKA Moscow.

Key stats:

21 - AC Milan have been unbeaten in 21 matches since the opening day of the season when they lost at home to Cremonese.

48 - Nicolas Paz of Como has had the most successful dribbles of any player in Serie A this season with 48. He has also had the most shots, won the most duels and is second for most successful passes.

Fixtures (all times GMT)

Friday

Lazio v Genoa (1945)

Saturday

Pisa v Sassuolo (1400), Napoli v Fiorentina (1700), Cagliari v Verona (1945)

Sunday

Torino v Lecce (1130), Como v Atalanta (1400), Cremonese v Inter Milan (1700), Parma v Juventus (1945)

Monday

Udinese v Roma (1945)

Tuesday

Bologna v AC Milan (1945)