Naples vs. Man City: De Bruyne Debut & Last-Minute Drama | Champions League 2023/24

When his name was called in the stadium, the decibels rose when he touched the leather again for the first time, and all the ball keys that followed were supported by persistent buzz in the stands.

And whether the Napolitan public had looked forward to the competition debut of Kevin De Bruyne in the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Our countryman immediately thought the conductor in all (organized) chaos. Like a magnet, he pulled all the balls towards him. Undoubtedly on orders from Conte, who made KDB the metronome of his team in no time.

“If you have the ball, then look for KDB”, must have sounded in the dressing room.

And although the Romelu Lukaku injury clearly left a gaping hole in the spits position, De Bruyne used it as a corridor to drop balls in or to dive into it.

Although the latter seems to be a necessity and a side effect of a bigger problem at Napoli. The team around KDB seems to have too few attacking runners. Let alone people who feel the free spaces like him. It is one thing to get the lungs out of your body, it is something completely different to make smart use of those spaces.

And so there was some waste in De Bruyne’s game. He did sprinkle and occasionally caused a touch of magic – for example, a meaningful “ooo” of the stands rolled a few times – but the many attacks with the dominant Napoli missed a sting.

He himself hit it Half an hour a cannonball between the frame, and he could have had an assist or two. But after 80 minutes he was brought to the side under applause at 0-0.

Too bad, such a home debut without a win …

Or not?

Ultimate De Bruyne – albeit from the couch – could once again taste the fire in Naples. In the very last minute, Anguissa still buys the 1-0 on the board. The stadium exploded and De Bruyne was also part of the budding folk festival for the first time.

And whether that will have tasted more.