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Antonio Conte's tenure as Napoli manager got off to the worst possible start as he apologised to fans for being thrashed by Verona. The 2023 Serie A champions are looking to bounce back from a tough season last term, but suffered a 3-0 defeat in their opening league match on Sunday. Verona's Dailon Livramento's second half opener and Daniel Mosquera's double fired the home side to a surprise victory. And Conte didn't shy away from how disappointing his first game in charge was. Speaking to DAZN after the game, he said: “We have to say sorry to our supporters because it was a second half that was, well it’s difficult even to assess what happened. “In the first half, there was only one team on the pitch and it was Napoli. "Then we came out for the second half maybe too satisfied with ourselves for the first half performance even though we were still goalless. But it wasn’t the same attitude as in the first half. ” He added: "It is really worrying. Good teams react to difficult situations… but we completely fell apart. “I’m the coach and it’s my responsibility, so I apologise. It was a debacle and it’s my fault. ” When speaking to Italian media, the former Juventus player appeared to question whether everyone at the club was hurting as much as him after the heavy loss. As per Italian reporter Tancredi Palmeri, he said: "There is only shame. I am ashamed as a coach. A thing like this has rarely happened to me, both as a player and as a coach. "Today my heart is bleeding. Let's see if anyone else is bleeding in the next few days. " Napoli finished in 10th place last season after a miserable attempt at a title defence. The Serie A side went through three managers following now-Italy manager Luciano Spalletti's request for a sabbatical after they won the title. Successors Rudi Garcia, Walter Mazzarri and Francesco Calzona all failed to make the reigning champions click. Ex-Chelsea and Tottenham manager Conte joined the club this summer, signing on a three-year contract. Napoli's lack of firepower isn't helped by superstar striker Osimhen, who bagged 26 league goals in their title winning season, being unavailable. This is due to his pending transfer and him logging a transfer request. talk SPORT understands Chelsea are in talks with the striker, with Romelu Lukaku tipped to head in the opposite direction. "You all know full well the Osimhen situation was already there when I arrived and will be dealt with exclusively by the club, " he said. "I did not get into the situation, " Conte said. "You all know that the transfer market is very complicated and [the deal is] currently blocked. "I cannot say any more than that. " This service is provided on talk SPORT Ltd's Terms of Use in accordance with our Privacy Policy.