CorSport – Napoli: De Bruyne was tipped, but Politano stole the show! | OneFootball

CorSport - Napoli: It was supposed to be KDB's night, but it turned out to be Politano's!

It was supposed to be Kevin De Bruyne's night and his grand return to Manchester, but it turned out - in some ways - to be the night of his teammate who was next to him during the Champions League anthem, who tried to give him strength with a pat on the shoulder when banners dedicated to King Kev were flying at the Etihad and in the Belgian's heart, there was probably a mix of emotions hard to describe. Matteo Politano was there, in fact, Matteo Politano was everywhere on the green grass of Manchester. He did everything, the boy who after all would be a striker. He also found himself as captain, when Di Lorenzo was sent off for stopping Haaland's goal-bound run. Armband on his arm and leadership multiplied to the stars. More than a winger, a right back, helping Spinazzola in the doubles, doing the wing in those few times when he could have enough field to cover it. Kilometers and saves: a continuous duel with Doku, Manchester City's Belgian arrow.

Huge effort, but the kind that pumps you up. Ready in every situation, even when he caught a 70-meter pass from Milinkovic-Savic on the fly. Stop to follow, O'Reilly aimed, then inadvertently also knocked down. He could have continued the action, but he was worried about the opponent, hit by a stomp - the kind that hurts - on the leg. He tried to feed Hojlund and McTominay, cutting back on his left, but City was everywhere taking the breath away. Even from him, who has at least one extra lung. Gigantic in every sense, even when in the second minute of stoppage time in the first half he practically saved on the line a shot from Reijnders risking an own goal, but blindly trusting his goalkeeper, Milinkovic-Savic, ready to avoid the mockery to him and all of Napoli. He celebrated as if he had scored, beating his chest, seeking energy to resist from the 2,700 Napoli fans present at the Etihad. He returned to the locker room like a lion, after having fought and growled at Doku and all of City for an entire half despite the immense difficulties, which grew exponentially when he found himself with ten teammates.

Matteo didn't lose his composure, but at a certain point, with the Belgian popping up everywhere, he had to surrender to the evidence and the extraordinary speed of Doku, stopping him with a hug in the 7th minute of the second half. He got a yellow card, deservedly so, and that's when Conte decided to change him. Politano out, Juan Jesus in at the 10th minute of the second half. Too risky to have a player so involved in defensive play with a warning on his shoulders, the coach must have thought. And from that moment, Matteo sat on the bench and Napoli conceded a goal. First with Haaland, rising to the sky on a brilliant assist from Foden, then from Doku himself, slipping between Spinazzola and Beukema. He did his best and even more, but against such champions it was not enough. It was supposed to be Kevin De Bruyne's night, but for 55 minutes, despite the defeat, it was Matteo Politano's.

Carlo Gioia

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.