Antonio Conte has issued a blunt warning to Kevin De Bruyne after the former Man City star expressed his frustration after being substituted in Napoli's 2-1 defeat by AC Milan on Sunday.<br /><br />Milan had led 2-0 at the San Siro through Alexis Saelemaekers and Christian Pulisic’s first-half goals, before Pervis Estupinan was sent off for pulling back Giovanni di Lorenzo with the goal gaping.<br /><br />De Bruyne converted the subsequent penalty on the hour mark to reduce the arrears, but was then withdrawn as part of a triple change by Conte as Napoli chased an equaliser.<br /><br />The Belgian was replaced by Eljif Elmas in the 72nd minute, with Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund also making way for David Neres and Lorenzo Lucca.<br /><br />After making his way off the pitch, De Bruyne appeared to motion in the direction of Conte as he expressed his frustration on his way to the bench.<br /><br />Napoli were unable to find an equaliser in the closing stages, with the reigning champions suffering their first league defeat of the season. <br /><br />Conte was asked about De Bruyne's reaction in his post-match press conference, with the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss offering a blunt response to the Belgian as he explained his substitutions.<br /><br />'I hope De Bruyne was upset about the substitution because of the result, because otherwise he's got the wrong guy,' Conte said, as per Gazzetta Dello Sport.<br /><br />'I tried to bring in fresh players for one-on-one situations, given that Milan were closing down a lot. I replaced Hojlund with Lucca. <br /><br />'There's not much to say, I think the substitutions were the right ones.'<br /><br />De Bruyne, 34, has been substituted in four of his six matches for Napoli since joining the club on a free transfer in the summer.<br /><br />The most notable occasion came in the Champions League on his much-anticipated return to his former club, Man City.<br /><br />De Bruyne was withdrawn in the 26th minute after Napoli were reduced to 10 men, marking a disappointing return to the Etihad, where he had proved a pivotal figure for Man City in a decade at the club.<br /><br />Conte had been sympathetic to De Bruyne on that occasion, having taken him off as part of a tactical adjustment following the red card.<br /><br />'We were all left with a bitter taste in our mouths,' Conte had said post-match.<br /><br />'I felt sorry for the boy, who we robbed of the satisfaction of playing against his old club. But I also robbed myself of the chance to count on him.<br /><br />'In the first 20 minutes, I had the feeling that we had prepared the match in the right way, going for the high goal. I’m sorry, these are games where a sending off ruins them and you can’t do the exact right thing.'<br /><br />He was a marquee addition at Napoli in the summer as the club sought to build on its Serie A triumph the previous season, while also aiming to make an impact in the Champions League.<br /><br />His move came after Man City opted against renewing his contract, ending his trophy-laden spell at the club, which included winning the Champions League and six Premier League titles.
