Napoli boss Antonio Conte has described his side’s 2-0 Champions League defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium as “the work of the devil.”
City broke the deadlock through Erling Haaland before Jeremy Doku sealed the win, but Napoli’s night turned sour in the 21st minute when Giovanni Di Lorenzo was shown a straight red card for a foul on Haaland.
Speaking after the game, the former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager admitted the sending off changed everything.
“We were all left with a bitter taste in our mouths. It’s disappointing, we prepared for the match the way we played it in the first 20 minutes, and the sending off changed it. City would have had a hard time against us,” Conte said.
He added:
“Sometimes the devil takes a turn, there’s a cruel twist of fate. Last year we didn’t have a sending off, today in the Champions League we did.”
Conte also apologised to Napoli supporters:
“I’m sorry. These are games where a sending off ruins them and you can’t do the exact right thing.”
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