City defeats Napoli in De Bruyne’s emotional match

Manchester City made no mistake at the start of the Champions League league phase, winning their opening match 2-0 against Napoli. 

The match was played at the “Etihad Stadium”, where Kevin De Bruyne was eagerly awaited. 

De Bruyne spent a decade with the sky-blue side and won no fewer than 19 trophies. 

But his return to this stadium did not go as hoped. 

After captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo was shown a red card in the 21st minute, coach Antonio Conte made a forced substitution. Di Lorenzo was punished for an illegal challenge on Erling Haaland as the last defender. The straight red card was shown after the incident was reviewed by VAR. 

Five minutes later, De Bruyne went off, but his team held firm in the first half. 

Pep Guardiola’s team scored the winning goals in the 56th and 65th minutes. 

First, Norwegian Haaland headed in to make it 1-0 after a superb assist from Phil Foden. It was Haaland’s 50th goal in the Champions League, in 49 appearances. 

Doku scored the 2-0 goal after a superb solo move in the box. 

Amir Rrahmani did not play for Napoli in this match. Kosovo’s captain has been absent due to an injury sustained while on duty with the “Dardanians” in the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches.