Naples was beaten in Manchester City on Thursday night, an unforgettable return to Kevin de Bruin.
Antonio Conte saw the Napolitan side losing and claimed Kevin de Bruin 26 minutes later, “the only thing I can do.” The Belgian returned to Manchester City on Thursday, but spent a night forgetting that his manager apologized to him to finish his game early.
De Bruyne bought Curtain in 10 years on the Premier League side last season, then joined Serie A Champions Napoli as a free agent in the summer. He returned to his previous club a few months after the exit, but his nights were shorter.
The 34-year-old found Erling Haaland and Jeremy Dok the net, but much of his viewing came from the submarine bench. Napoli was reduced to 10 in the 21st minute when Giovanni di Lorenzo was given a straight red card for Haaland’s foul, and Conte chose to sacrifice his playmaker.
read more: Kevin De Bruin carried Val out as he intervened in the incident and left Ehring Haaland’s smoke.read more: Ehringhaaland strikes again as Man City attackers score 8/10 in a comfortable Napoli victory
Conte made the decision through a shattered tooth, but the staff and the system left him with most options, but most other than carrying de Bruin. He said: “We all had a bitter taste in our mouths.
“It’s a shame. We prepared the match the way we played in the first 20 minutes and the send-out changed that. I don’t want to say if it was right or wrong, but for 20 minutes I saw a great attitude and I think the city had a hard time with us.
“It’s already hard to get out of here unharmed, but if you get to 10, that’s not possible.
“Sometimes the demons are turned and there’s a cruel twist of fate. Last year, in the Champions League we did, there were no send-outs. That was the only thing I could do…
“We felt sorry for the boy who took away his satisfaction with playing against his old club, but I took away the opportunity to count on him.
“In the first 20 minutes I felt like I had prepared the match the right way and prepared for a high goal, sorry.
De Bruyne scored twice in four games in Naples. The cities facing were seen as their most challenging European clash, with many who tilted them to advance.
The Belgian left Manchester as one of the greatest players of all time to wear a city shirt, but no new contract was issued and Pep Guardiola recalibrated his team.
De Bruyne was part of the 2023 Champions League glory claim.
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