KDB's new beginning in the place where everything started

Etihad Stadium. Sky-blue jersey. The fans are chanting his name. And yet, Kevin felt something was different. His teammates are far off - all the way on the other half of the pitch. His coach isn't calling him to give him last-minute advice. The captain's armband isn't wrapped around his arm.

Yes, it was his home - it will always be, they said when he said his farewells - but now, he was the visitor, the guest, the rival. The fans still love him, appreciate him, respect him, adore him, but in the following 90 minutes, he's the enemy. That's how things work in football.

Pep's tears, guard of honor and a promised statue

Seconds before the ref's first whistle, he's thinking whether the fate had to be so cruel. There were 30 possible opponents in the opening Champions League round, for God's sake! Why did it have to be the club to which he had given ten years? And not just any ten years - the best ten years of his career.

Suddenly, he hears the whistle and his thoughts about the past abandon him. "It's on," he's thinking, "let's play football!"

Now, tonight, things may not happen in the exact same way as described above. The visitors will probably play in their away, non-sky-blue kit. And our hero, Kevin De Bruyne, will undoubtedly be aware that his Man City days are over and that he has to give it all for his new team, Napoli.

Still, some things are a universal truth: Etihad will forever be his home, the fans will forever cherish him, and that draw was as cruel as winter's wind in Manchester. But what's written by destiny cannot be changed, no matter how much we'd want it to be different.

Therefore, in his first international club game since he left the Cityzens and joined the Neapolitans, De Bruyne will face his former side at which he spent ten beautiful years and with which he won 19 trophies.

The Belgian's new beginning will happen in the place where everything started. Where he became one of the most creative players football has ever seen. Where he became a legend.

It would be silly to say there's no silver lining. After all, Kevin knows them better than anyone. He knows what the bald man by the sidelines thinks. He knows that Pep definitely "prepared a trap" and has a plan to stop him.

Nevertheless, he also knows the Cityzens are struggling. They lost two out of the first four Premier League games. And although it may sound condescending, they might have lost them because they have yet to find a replacement for him.

Either way, the emotions will be strong tonight at Etihad, where KDB will be deservedly awaited like a king, although the crowd will look forward to seeing him sad after the ref's final whistle. But will his sadness necessarily mean that Napoli lost the game?

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 1

Tuesday

Athletic Bilbao - Arsenal 0-2 (0-0)

/Martinelli 72, Trossard 87/

PSV - St. Gilloise 1-3 (0-2)

/Van Bommel 90 - David 9 pen, Ait El Hadj 39, Mac Allister 81/

Benfica - Qarabag 2-3 (2-1)

/Barrenechea 6, Pavlidis 16 - Andrade 30, Duran 48, Kashchuk 86/

Juventus - Dortmund 4-4 (0-0)

/Yildiz 64, Vlahovic 68, 90+4, Kelly 90+6 - Adeyemi 52, Nmecha 65, Couto 75, Bensebaini 83 pen/

Real Madrid - Olympique Marseille 2-1 (1-1)

/Mbappe 29 pen, 81 pen - Weah 22/

Tottenham - Villarreal 1-0 (1-0)

/Luiz Junior 4 og/

Wednesday

Olympiacos - Paphos 0-0

Slavia Prague - Bodo 2-2 (1-0)

/Mbodji 23, 74 - Bassi 78, Fet 90/

Ajax - Inter 0-2 (0-1)

/Thuram 42, 47/

Bayern - Chelsea 3-1 (2-1)

/Chalobah 20 og, Kane 27 pen, 63 - Palmer 29/

Liverpool - Atletico Madrid 3-2 (2-1)

/Robertson 4, Salah 6, Van Dijk 90+2 - Llorente 45+3, 81/

PSG - Atalanta 4-0 (2-0)

/Marquinhos 3, Khvicha 39, Mendes 51, Ramos 90+1/

Thursday

19.45: (2.80) Club Brugge (3.40) Monaco (2.50)

19.45: (3.20) Copenhagen (3.40) Leverkusen (2.25)

22.00: (2.10) Eintr.Frankfurt (3.50) Galatasaray (3.40)

22.00: (1.70) Man.City (3.60) Napoli (5.30)

22.00: (3.15) Newcastle (3.50) Barcelona (2.20)

22.00: (1.08) Sporting (12.0) Kairat Almaty (25.0)

***odds are subject to change***