Napoli, De Bruyne: “This is the real Kevin, I don’t know what you expect from me in Italy!”

Napoli have got the Belgian back in the starting line-up and, despite the defeat, he delivered a top-class performance.

Odegaard's goal took the wind out of Napoli, and the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, a third straight loss for Massimiliano Allegri's side, keeps the pressure firmly on. Yet the night at the Diego Armando Maradona also offered a few positives, despite the injuries to Alisson Santos and Meret, most notably the return to the starting line-up and central role of a Kevin De Bruyne who looked in excellent form.

High-level match

The Belgian finally returned to the starting line-up, his first start under Massimiliano Allegri, and he immediately took on a leadership role. He even told off and traded words on the pitch with some team-mates, Giovanni Di Lorenzo in particular.

"Fire and a desire to fight," the Italian captain called it, quickly drawing a line under the matter. The match also saw the Belgian leave the pitch with a major endorsement for the future, especially given the already known absences of Anguissa and McTominay.

“This is the real Kevin”

"How long is it until we see the real De Bruyne? This is the real Kevin, I don’t know what you expect from me. I know that in Italy you talk a lot about this, but this is actually me. With Allegri everything is going well, he is a bit calmer and more relaxed than me. But everything is going well, there is a good feeling with the squad. We had a difficult start against very strong teams. There is a desire to build something great. Allegri speaks to me in Italian, not in English (laughs, ed.)".