Napoli coach Antonio Conte sends warning to Kevin De Bruyne after replacing in loss by AC Milan

Napoli suffered their first defeat of the Serie A-Season 2025-26 against AC Milanled by a striking performance of Christian Pulisic. But much of the attention of the postgame shifted to the dugout, where head coach Antonio Conte sent a warning to Kevin De Bruyne After the Belgian star showed frustration because it was replaced.

De Bruyne arrived from Manchester City as the tent signing of Napoli and was central to Conte’s plans, so that the team helped the season with four consecutive competition wins. But against Milan” He achieved the headlines for the wrong reasons, despite finding the score sheet.

After an assist and a goal from Pulisic, Milan brought control, De Bruyne cut the shortage of the penalty spot in the 60th minute to bring Napoli back into the game. His night, however, ended in the 72nd minute when he was replaced by Eljif Elmas.

Bruyne, visibly frustrated, ran his way off the field with a dry handshake Conte Before sitting on the couch, Displeasure. Napoli could not find an equalizer and the loss ended their perfect start in the Serie A, which fell to the second place on the table.

Conte’s decision to replace De Bruyne has become a recurring theme. Since he came to the club, the midfielder has completed the full 90 minutes in just two of his six performances, despite starting each match. The most striking example came in the Champions League opener in Manchester City, When Conte withdrew him in the 26th minute after the early red card by Giovanni di LorenzoCutting his long -awaited Etihad recovery.

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Conte starts the reaction of De Bruyne

The frustration of the midfielder on Sunday seemed bound to his frequent replacements, as well as the timing, leave the field at a crucial moment with Napoli who pursues the match against 10-man Milan. His visible anger caught the attention of the media and Conte did not shy away from responding.

‘I hope De Bruyne was upset about the replacement because of the result; Otherwise he chose the wrong person“In his press conference after the game, Conte said, making him clear that he would not tolerate the midfielder that aimed at him.

The coach stood in his decisions and insisted that the replacements were the right calls. ‘I tried to get new players for one-on-one situations, because Milan was deeply. I replaced (Rasmus) Højlund with (Lorenzo) Lucca. There is not much to say – I think the substitutions were correct“Said Conte, looking ahead to the upcoming Champions League collision of Napoli with Sporting Lisbon.