Conte: ‘Destiny cruel to De Bruyne, red card ruined game with Manchester City’ | OneFootball

Antonio Conte admits ‘destiny is cruel’ to Kevin De Bruyne on his Manchester City return, but saw ‘positive things’ in Napoli’s Champions League defeat. ‘I felt we could hurt them, the red card ruined the match.’

The plan was forced to change almost immediately when Giovanni Di Lorenzo was sent off for a mistimed tackle on Erling Haaland just 21 minutes into the match.

This in turn prompted Conte to sacrifice Kevin De Bruyne to introduce Mathias Olivera, cutting short his special comeback without complaint.

“We were all left with a bitter taste in our mouths, because it’s disappointing,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

“We had prepared the match the way we played in the first 20 minutes, and this red card ruined the match. I don’t want to say if it was the right decision or not, as I didn’t see it, but it’s already hard enough to play against Manchester City with 11 against 11.

“I had seen a good attitude from my men and I think City would’ve found it extremely difficult tonight to play against us. After what happened, the lads did well to hold on. It’s already tough, but if you are down to 10 men for 75-80 minutes included added time, it becomes impossible.”

Conte felt bad for De Bruyne

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Kevin De Bruyne of Napoli interacts with teammates on the bench after being substituted during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between Manchester City and SSC Napoli at City of Manchester Stadium on September 18, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Did Conte have any doubts or regrets at taking off De Bruyne just 26 minutes into his big comeback at the Etihad?

“Destiny can be cruel sometimes. Last season, we had just one red card in Serie A. Here we got one after 20 minutes. Taking De Bruyne off was the only thing I could’ve done at that moment.

“I felt sorry for him, we lost his quality in the match and took away his opportunity to play here against his old club in his former stadium, but it was the only choice.”

They held out for 56 minutes, until Haaland nodded in the inspired Phil Foden assist, then Jeremy Doku danced through defenders to seal the 2-0 result.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Antonio Conte, Head Coach of Napoli, and Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, embrace prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between Manchester City and SSC Napoli at City of Manchester Stadium on September 18, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Conte was seen shouting at the touchline, angry that his players were not keeping the ball for longer than very brief periods.

“I am very honest and I got the feeling we had started well the first 20 minutes, causing them problems with a high press. I had the sensation we could hurt them,” added the coach.

“I am sorry that these are games that get ruined by red cards, because you can never know how things would’ve gone and how the teams measure up really against each other. I’ve been a player, I know that fatigue also sets in after a while when you are down to 10, so I had to introduce fresh legs.”

Matteo Politano had impressed when defending against Doku, but when he was substituted after a yellow card for a 3-5-2 formation, Manchester City broke through.

“Matteo is not a wing-back, and he was being forced to play that role. He can drop down when needed to help out, but if he has to just stay in that position, then others are more suitable. We tried to bring home a result and changed our shape to do it,” confessed Conte.

“I am happy with the spirit of sacrifice from my players and I leave this match with positive sensations about our European progress. Those are my feelings.”

Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Manchester City 2-0 Napoli

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Antonio Conte, Head Coach of Napoli, looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between Manchester City and SSC Napoli at City of Manchester Stadium on September 18, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Rasmus Hojlund was increasingly isolated upfront, so should Napoli have pressed higher to at least try to score a goal?

“These are matches where you are ultimately forced to defend. We conceded precisely when we tried to press high on a throw-in. That was a mistake. Our intention had been to press and get into these individual duels, but when you are down to 10, you’ve got to defend and hope for a counter-attack,” replied Conte.

“We didn’t want to do that, but we had to. When we did try to press them, we conceded. It was an excess of generosity. We need to be more mature, understand the situations, when not to press high if you are 10 against 11.

“This is why I say that I am nonetheless happy with the mentality of these lads. We had pretty much never been down to 10 last season, so this was the first time we were tested like this, and it was against the strongest opponent. I saw positive things, the way we came here with the desire to play on an even level.

“I was honestly angrier after the win over Fiorentina, as we took our foot off the gas in the last 10 minutes. These are games where if you don’t use your head and hold on, you can concede five or six goals against Manchester City and those stay with you, so we avoided that.”

The red card means Di Lorenzo will also be suspended for the next Champions League fixture against Sporting CP, which is scheduled for the Stadio Maradona on October 1.