Luciano Spalletti hit out at the media coverage surrounding Napoli after his side cruised to a 6-1 thrashing of Sassuolo on Saturday.
Napoli saw their Scudetto hopes crushed as a second-half collapse allowed Empoli victory last week, but Spalletti's side raced out the blocks against Sassuolo as Kalidou Koulibaly, Victor Osimhen and Hirving Lozano struck.
The rapid start saw Napoli net three times within the first 20 minutes of a Serie A match for the first time since May 2009 before Dries Mertens added a double either side of the interval.
Amir Rrahmani then turned home with the hosts claiming a 6-1 win after Maxime Lopez's late consolation goal.
But Spalletti was in no mood for celebrating after Napoli all but secured Champions League qualification, sitting 12 points clear of fifth-placed Roma, who have four games to play.
The Napoli coach questioned the reporting by the media after speculation persisted over his future following the disappointing defeat to Empoli.
"Being almost mathematically certain of Champions League football with three rounds to spare was not an easy target. Having said that, there are some regrets," he told reporters.
"I was the one who talked about the Scudetto to raise the bar, but winning a game in today's atmosphere, with part of the crowd protesting, is something that disappoints me considering all the players have done this season.
"It almost feels like it's a success to be where Roma, Atalanta or Lazio are, but Napoli are treated as a failure.
"Who has doubts about me? A journalist who has no ideas and decides to fill up space by going back to find problems from years ago, back to Francesco Totti, Mauro Icardi and who knows what else.
"I see bad faith in some reporting around me and Napoli. You are trying to obscure the great result of Champions League qualification by making it all about the Scudetto.
"It's true we dropped points against Empoli, but just as true that we have achieved things with Napoli this season. The team did not deserve to play in this atmosphere."
Spalletti is aiming to continue building at Napoli even if he is to lose some of his star players after impressing this season.
"This season told us a lot, now we have more material available and we have created a showcase for many players," he added.
"At the beginning of the season the president talked about having to lower the salary, there were not many proposals, now many are interested in the transfer market and I'm happy with this.
"These players here deserve showcases and deserve to be in the sights of other important clubs such as Napoli."
St. Jago, Eltham, STATHS and Wolmer’s through to Walker Cup final four
St. Jago High, Eltham High, STATHS and Wolmer’s Boys all advanced to the semi-finals of the Walker Cup knockout tournament after quarter-final wins on Thursday.
St. Jago booked their spot in the last four after a 3-2 win over Calabar High at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.
St. Jago took an early lead before Calabar equalized in the 45th minute through Kevaun Campbell. St. Jago retook the lead five minutes into the second half through Richardo Lewis before Seon Cato made it 3-1 in the 74th minute.
Calabar got a consolation goal through Sheldon Pusey eight minutes from full time but it wasn’t enough.
In the second game of the double header at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Wolmer’s Boys got the better of St. George’s College 2-1.
Elsewhere, STATHS got a comfortable 3-0 win over Charlie Smith at Calabar to advance while Eltham beat Jonathan Grant 3-1 at the Spanish Town Prison Oval to make it through.
Venezuela 1-1 Brazil: Super sub Segovia holds Selecao to shock draw
Substitute Telasco Segovia delivered the pivotal goal that saw 10-man Venezuela hold Brazil to a 1-1 draw in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying.
The shock result leaves Brazil in third place, trailing second-placed Colombia by two points and far short of Argentina in first.
Brazil opened the scoring just before half-time as Raphinha curled a delightful free-kick over the Venezuela wall from 20 yards out to break the deadlock.
On the other side of the break, however, half-time substitute Segovia equalised just 41 seconds after the restart, striking from outside the box, having run onto Jefferson Savarino’s short lay-off.
The visitors were provided with a prime opportunity to restore their lead when Rafael Romo fouled Vinicius Junior in the box. But the Real Madrid forward was unable to capitalise on the resulting penalty, seeing his initial effort saved before firing the rebound wide.
As tensions rose, the game delivered further drama as Alexander Gonzalez received his marching orders in the 89th minute for lashing out at Vinicius after fouling Gabriel Martinelli.
In a farcical ending to the lively affair, sprinklers popped up in the pitch in added time to delay proceedings, but neither side could find a way through.
Data Debrief: Instant impact for super sub Segovia
Segovia's goal, 41 seconds after coming on, is the fastest for a player coming off the bench in the last three editions of the South American World Cup Qualifiers.
Venezuela have now scored two goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half, only Brazil (four) and Colombia (four) have scored more in the 2026 CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers.
Kelleher repays Ireland trust in Finland victory
Republic of Ireland winger Mikey Johnston said the team had always trusted Caoimhin Kelleher after he made a crucial penalty save in their 1-0 Nations League win over Finland.
Johnston's corner set up Brighton and Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson for the decisive goal on the stroke of half-time, after Finland had twice been denied by the woodwork.
The visitors had a golden chance to level in the second half, but Liverpool goalkeeper Kelleher made a stunning save to deny Joel Pohjanpalo from 12 yards following a handball from Ferguson.
The result means Finland are relegated from Group B2, while Ireland must come through a play-off to remain in the competition's second tier.
Speaking after the game, Johnston credited Kelleher's all-important penalty save, saying: "I always trust him to go and save a penalty. He has reacted really well and stepped up in a big moment.
"We were aiming for the win. They had moments but there were a few chances we could have taken as well.
"We're happy that we've come away with the win. Sometimes in the last year we would have been on the other side of a bit of bad luck."
Ireland round off their campaign against England on Sunday, in Lee Carsley's final game in charge of the Three Lions before Thomas Tuchel takes the reins in January.
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