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De Bruyne was substituted early in the match. Photo: Reuters . |
The turning point of the match came in the 21st minute, when Napoli defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo received a direct red card after fouling Erling Haaland. This decision forced Conte to sacrifice De Bruyne and bring on defender Mathias Olivera, prematurely ending the Belgian midfielder's emotional return against his former club.
"I'm very sorry and want to apologize to De Bruyne. He lost the opportunity to play at the stadium he was so attached to, but that was the only option I could make at the time," Conte shared.
Despite being down to 10 men, Napoli held out for over 50 minutes. However, in the 76th minute, Haaland headed in the opening goal after a pass from Phil Foden. Shortly after, Jeremy Doku skillfully dribbled past the Napoli defense to seal a 2-0 victory for Man City.
Throughout the match, Conte repeatedly expressed his frustration that his players couldn't hold onto the ball long enough to launch counter-attacks as originally planned. He said: “We are all disappointed. The whole team prepared well and started the game as intended for the first 20 minutes. But the red card ruined everything. Facing Man City is already difficult, but having to play with 10 men for over 70 minutes is almost impossible.”
The match at the Etihad ended in a one-sided affair, with Napoli suffering an early setback. In the next round of matches on October 1st, Man City will visit Monaco, while Napoli will face Sporting CP.
Source: https://znews.vn/conte-xin-loi-de-bruyne-post1586480.html
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