.png)
Featured Image Credit: CBS
Topics: Football, Napoli, Kevin De Bruyne, Serie A, AC Milan, Antonio Conte
Luke Davies
Topics: Football, Napoli, Kevin De Bruyne, Serie A, AC Milan, Antonio Conte
A clip of an incident involving Napoli’s Kevin De Bruyne has gone viral following the Serie A champions’ defeat against AC Milan.
Napoli suffered their first league defeat of the season at the hands of AC Milan on Sunday.
The Campania side, made up of Scott McTominay and co., struggled against the in-form Milan, who went top on goal difference.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side went ahead three minutes in thanks to Alexis Saelemaekers' strike before former Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic bagged his fourth goal of the Serie A campaign to double his side’s advantage on 31 minutes.
Advert
However, summer signing and former Brighton right-back Pervis Estupinan was shown red on 57 minutes, leaving his side down to ten men, before De Bruyne converted the ensuing penalty to pull one back for Antonio Conte’s outfit.
And despite scoring, De Bruyne was withdrawn on 73 minutes to the dismay of the Belgian, who made his feelings clear as he trudged off.
McTominay and on-loan Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund were also brought off with De Bruyne.
Advert
This came after the attacking midfielder was sacrificed in the first half of his return to the Etihad during Napoli’s 2-0 Champions League group phase defeat against Manchester City earlier this month.
As the 34-year-old made his way towards the bench at San Siro on Sunday evening, he appeared visibly annoyed at the substitution, causing some fans to react on social media.
One said: “I thought I was the only one who had an Issue with it. If KDB won't be on the pitch for an 11 v 10, then when?
“When they were the ones down to ten versus city, they sacrificed KDB, so why take him off in this kinda game? Conte got the decision wrong.”
Advert
Another added: “KDB is never afraid to show his displeasure! He did it to Pep a few times.”
A third claimed: “Brought on a decent target man only to take off the only one with enough quality to get a ball to him. Masterful gambit, Mr Conte.”
Since joining Napoli from City in the summer, De Bruyne has registered three goals but has yet to produce an assist in his six appearances for the Italians.
Advert
After the loss in Milan, Conte discussed the 34-year-old’s reaction.
The Italian said: "I tried to bring in fresh players for one-on-one situations because Milan were closing down a lot. I swapped the striker for Lucca and nothing happened... You make substitutions to try and do something good. I think they were the right changes."
When pressed on De Bruyne’s reaction, Conte added: "I hope he was upset about the result because if he was upset about something else, he's got the wrong person."
De Bruyne has since posted on social media but did not directly address the incident. Alongside two snaps of him and Luka Modric, a caption read: "Everybody enjoys good football. Good to see you brate @lukamodric10."
Advert
Napoli return to action with a Champions League clash at home against Sporting Club on Wednesday.