Napoli manager Antonio Conte has justified his decision to replace Kevin De Bruyne in the first half of his side’s defeat to Manchester City in their 2025/26 UCL opener on Thursday.
De Bruyne’s return to the Etihad few months after leaving as a legend, dominated the prematch headlines ahead of the matchday one clash between both teams.
The Belgian international was given a warm welcome by the City fans, who displayed a huge banner with the inscription ‘King Kev’ around the Etihad Stadium.
However, the playmaker’s fairytale return was short-lived following his substitution in the 26th minute of the match.
An early red card to captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo disrupted Antonio Conte’s game plan, who then sacrificed De Bruyne for Mathias Olivera, in a bid to strengthen the defense.
Speaking after the game, the Napoli boss revealed that it was a tough decision, but it was one he had to make for the team.
“It was the only substitution that I could do. I was really sorry for him because it was the game against his old team but I think Kevin understood it very well.
It’s already difficult to play against Manchester City, 11 vs 11. After 20 minutes it was impossible”, Conte revealed.
Erling Haaland opened the scoring with a brilliant header in the second half, becoming the fastest player to reach 50 UCL goals, achieving the remarkable feat in 49 matches.
Jeremy Doku weaved his way through the Napoli defense, before netting a second to seal a convincing performance for Pep Guardiola’s men.
“Defensively we were really good and the two goals I think that we can do much better, but I don’t have anything to tell to my players because the commitment, the attitude was good. If we continued 11 vs 11 we could see another game in my opinion”, he added.
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