"[When] he [De Bruyne] does well, the team does well. He does poorly, the team does poorly. We know what Kevin can give us. He needs support, as I always say. We try to find the right balance. We can go from absurd excesses to extremes. I need to find the best solutions, knowing that this is the second year and it will be very complex for us, having to play every three days and bringing in new players."
"Belgium midfielder De Bruyne was left less than impressed by the decision to take him off for the closing stages of Sunday's Serie A defeat at AC Milan -- where he had pulled a goal back from a second-half penalty -- and directed some colourful language towards the bench as he stormed down the tunnel."
"Napoli will be without captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo after the right-back's red card against City, while Alessandro Buongiorno is unavailable through injury. Leonardo Spinazzola and Mathdas Olivera both trained separately on Monday as they manage a return to action, with Conte facing "an emergency situation" in the centre of his defence."
Antonio Conte aims to move on from Kevin De Bruyne's angry reaction to being substituted and to restore the right balance in the Napoli squad ahead of the Champions League tie with Sporting Lisbon. De Bruyne was upset after being taken off late in the Serie A defeat at AC Milan despite scoring from a second-half penalty. Conte says matters have been clarified, stresses De Bruyne needs support, and warns of extremes in behaviour. Napoli face defensive issues with Giovanni Di Lorenzo suspended and Alessandro Buongiorno injured, while Spinazzola and Mathdas Olivera train separately as Conte calls it an emergency.
Read at ESPN.com
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