‘Genius’ Kevin de Bruyne leads Napoli in emotional return to Man City

LONDON – Kevin de Bruyne will be back at Manchester City on Sept 18 with the wind in his sails after a fast start with Napoli, who return to the Champions League full of confidence following a perfect start to the Italian Serie A season.

De Bruyne heads back to the Etihad Stadium with two goals from his first three Napoli matches, and a starring role in the Italian champions’ bid to make a mark in Europe’s elite club competition after securing a fourth title last season.

At 34 years old and after coming through a series of hamstring injures, the Belgian playmaker looks in great nick ahead of what will likely be an emotional return to City, where, over the course of a decade, he won six Premier League titles and in 2023 the Champions League.

City boss Pep Guardiola, speaking ahead of their clash on Sept 18, had only praise for his former star.

“(I am looking forward to seeing him) after the game, yeah,” he said.

“Of course it’s nice to have him back. It’s not a surprise (he is doing well at Napoli). Players at that level adapt so quick. They don’t need much time to adapt and perform well.

“His incredible talent, vision, passes, assists, goals, in the final third – he’s unique.”

Napoli boss Antonio Conte has had to shuffle the deck to accommodate one of the best players of this century, carving out for de Bruyne a creative midfield role which the former Italy coach hopes would not have a negative impact on last season’s star player Scott McTominay.

On Sept 13, Napoli blitzed Fiorentina in the early stages of a 3-1 away win with former Manchester United man McTominay ostensibly pushed out to the left but free to attack as de Bruyne – who netted the opening goal from the penalty spot – provided continuous threat with his passing range.

“The role that we’re creating for Kevin is perfect for him because he loves having the ball at his feet,” Conte said. “He’s a bit of genius. We’re trying to give a new role that helps him give us what he’s capable of giving us. He’s got such great quality. He sees situations that others rarely see.”

Napoli and City are facing each other for the first time since the 2017-18 group stage, where Guardiola’s men won both matches by a 6-3 aggregate, including a 2-1 win at the Etihad.

City head into this match on the back of a 3-0 derby win over United in the English Premier League on Sept 14, which came after back-to-back losses to Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Guardiola will hope that his team can continue the momentum to beat Napoli, while he also has an eye on this weekend’s big clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

City have lost four of their last five matches in the Champions League, but the positive is that they are unbeaten in 21 group-stage or league-phase games at the Etihad, winning 18 of them.

“Apparently we are not (favourites),” added Guardiola.

“Just enjoy the moment... focus on tomorrow, the game we have to play, start well this competition. When you start with a bad result, always it’s more difficult, and last season we drew the first game against Inter and hopefully this season we can get a better result.”

Conte described the clash with City as “the moment of truth” for his team, with City’s thumping Manchester derby win showcasing everything Guardiola’s team have to offer despite a rocky recent run.

A former Premier League winner himself with Chelsea, Conte has been criticised throughout his career for a lack of flexibility and a perceived incapability to deal with the rigours of European competition.

But he has adapted his style since taking over at Napoli and is aware of the challenge both in Manchester and throughout the league phase which has entered its second season.

“We’re going to start playing every three days and it’s going to be difficult,” he admitted.

“We’re going there as pupils to learn from the masters, me included, in the hope that the pupil may one day beat the master.” AFP