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Napoli boss apologises for Kevin De Bruyne's 'cruel twist of fate' substitution

Napoli were on the receiving end of a 2-0 loss against Manchester City in their first Champions League game of the campaign on September 18.

Along with the excitement of the competition's opening match, it was a special evening as Man City legend, Kevin De Bruyne, returned to the other side of the dugouts of Etihad after making the move to Napoli as a free agent this summer.

However, the evening did not go well for De Bruyne and his new club as the Belgian star had to be subbed off after Napoli were down to 10 men on the pitch in the 20th minute of the match after right-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo received a direct red card.

De Bruyne was replaced by defender Mathias Olivera on the pitch in the 21st minute.

While the eventful first half ended in a goalless draw, Erling Haaland opened the scoring for Man City from an assist by Phil Foden in the 56th minute, followed by Jeremy Doku doubling the home side's lead after being set up by Tijjani Reijnders in the 65th minute.

Napoli head coach Antonio Conte addressed his side's display and De Bruyne's early substitution due to the sending off, while being apologetic for 'robbing' the 34-year-old star 'of the satisfaction of playing against his old club.'

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What did Napoli boss Conte say about Kevin De Bruyne's early substitution against Man City?

While speaking after the defeat against Man City, Conte admitted that the game was 'disappointing,' explaining his decision to substitute De Bruyne as the 'only thing' he could do after the red card.

"We were all left with a bitter taste in our mouths. It's disappointing, we prepared for the match the way we played it in the first 20 minutes and the sending off changed it. I don't want to say whether it was right or wrong, but for 20 minutes I saw a great attitude and I think City would have had a hard time against us,” as per The Mirror.

"It's already difficult to get out of here unscathed, but if you're down to 10 men it becomes impossible. Sometimes the devil takes a turn, there's a cruel twist of fate. Last year we didn't have a sending off, today in the Champions League we did. It was the only thing I could do…"

"I felt sorry for the boy, who we robbed of the satisfaction of playing against his old club. But I also robbed myself of the chance to count on him. In the first 20 minutes I had the feeling that we had prepared the match in the right way, going for the high goal. I'm sorry, these are games where a sending off ruins them and you can't do the exact right thing."

Napoli stand first on the Serie A table and will focus on maintaining their rank in their next league clash against Pisa on September 22. Conte & Co. are set to return to Champions League action on October 1, where they face Sporting CP at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.