Kevin De Bruyne incident goes viral after Napoli’s defeat to AC Milan

The Campania outfit, including Scott McTominay and others, found it difficult to cope with Milan’s strong form, as the Rossoneri moved top on goal difference.

Massimiliano Allegri’s men took the lead just three minutes in through Alexis Saelemaekers, before Christian Pulisic—formerly of Chelsea—netted his fourth Serie A goal of the season to make it 2-0 in the 31st minute.

Things worsened for Napoli when summer arrival and ex-Brighton full-back Pervis Estupinan received a red card in the 57th minute, reducing the team to ten players. De Bruyne then converted the resulting penalty to reduce the deficit for Antonio Conte’s side.

Despite finding the net, De Bruyne was substituted in the 73rd minute, much to his frustration, which he didn’t hide as he left the pitch.

McTominay and loan signing Rasmus Hojlund from Manchester United were also taken off alongside De Bruyne.

This followed De Bruyne’s early substitution during Napoli’s 2-0 Champions League group stage defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad earlier this month.

As the 34-year-old walked toward the bench at San Siro on Sunday night, he looked visibly irritated by the decision, prompting reactions online.

“Oh boy” ????

The CBS crew react to Kevin De Bruyne’s frustrated reaction to being substituted… ???? pic.twitter.com/smG8d39nHT

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 28, 2025

One said: “I thought I was the only one who had an Issue with it. If KDB won’t be on the pitch for an 11 v 10, then when?

“When they were the ones down to ten versus city, they sacrificed KDB, so why take him off in this kinda game? Conte got the decision wrong.”

Another added: “KDB is never afraid to show his displeasure! He did it to Pep a few times.”

A third claimed: “Brought on a decent target man only to take off the only one with enough quality to get a ball to him. Masterful gambit, Mr Conte.”

Since arriving at Napoli from City during the summer window, De Bruyne has scored three times but is still waiting for his first assist in six outings for the Italian side.

Following the defeat to Milan, Conte addressed De Bruyne’s reaction.

The Italian said: “I tried to bring in fresh players for one-on-one situations because Milan were closing down a lot. I swapped the striker for Lucca and nothing happened… You make substitutions to try and do something good. I think they were the right changes.”

When asked about De Bruyne’s response, Conte added: “I hope he was upset about the result because if he was upset about something else, he’s got the wrong person.”

Napoli’s next fixture is a Champions League home match against Sporting Club on Wednesday.