During his time at Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne had the occasional temper tantrum. Those sometimes came after being substituted by Pep Guardiola.
The Belgian joined Napoli on a free transfer in the summer. He scored from the penalty spot against ten-men AC Milan on Sunday. However, Antonio Conte’s side suffered a 2-1 defeat at the San Siro.
It was their first defeat of the Serie A season. The ex-Manchester City player was taken off by the Italian in the 72nd minute. Unsurprisingly, he angry at being substituted when Napoli needed a goal to get level.
Conte makes De Bruyne stance clear
Conte was asked about De Bruyne’s reaction during the post-game press conference.
He said, relayed by Corriere dello Sport: “De Bruyne? I hope he was upset about the result. If he was upset about anything else, he’s got the wrong guy.”
Conte also explained the reasoning behind the decision to take off De Bruyne for Eljif Elmas and he said:
“I tried to bring in fresh players for the one-on-one because Milan were closing down a lot. I changed the striker for Lucca and nothing happened. You make changes to try and do something good. I think they were the right changes.”
While the 34-year-old scored for Napoli, he didn’t have a great game even when Milan were down to ten men.
That is perhaps one reason Conte believed he should be taken off. Elmas also brought more pace and directness to the pitch.
These reactions aren’t new from De Bruyne – as seen from his time at Manchester City. He sets high standards for himself and would know that he didn’t put in a good performance on Sunday.
Conte now has to manage the situation carefully. The Belgian is one of Napoli’s most recognised faces and will play a big role for them in the remainder of the season.
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