After failing to finish where they wanted last season, Napoli’s 2022/23 campaign started impressively with them sitting atop the league at the time of writing and winning back-to-back UEFA Champions League games against Liverpool and Rangers.
Their successful start is a result of their settled tactics and improved connection, but also a result of their smart summer transfer business. They secured the likes of Min-Jae Kim, Mathías Olivera, Giovanni Simeone and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia who settled quickly and are turning into leading figures in the team.
While all of them have made their contribution to the team’s unbeaten run since the beginning of the season, there’s one player that’s come under the spotlight with his outstanding displays and impact in attack. The left winger Kvaratskhelia, who just arrived from Dinamo Batumi, immediately adjusted to Serie A and fit Napoli’s tactics well, helping with ball progression and increasing their efficiency in attack.
The 21-year-old’s technical abilities and attacking flair have earned him the nickname “Kvaradona” and the comparisons to the late Napoli legend Diego Maradona due to the immediate impact that he had on the team’s performance and the hopes that he can lead them to their first title in 32 years.
Napoli’s attack is currently the most efficient in the league, along with Udinese’s, with Kvaratskhelia being the top goalscorer with four goals in seven games.
In this scout report, we use tactical analysis to examine his strengths and explain his contribution to the team’s tactics.
His role in Napoli’s tactics
The team parted ways with two of their key figures in attack over the summer – Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens. It was expected that their departure will affect the productivity in front of the goal and decrease their chances immensely. Unexpectedly for many, the new signing Kvaratskhelia managed to replace Insigne and bring a new creative spark to the team in a slightly different role than his predecessor.
The 21-year-old brings a lot of intensity on the left and supports ball progression while also creating opportunities for the team. Contrary to many of the wingers, Kvaratskhelia prefers to threaten the goal on his own by carrying the ball to dangerous areas and shooting frequently.
He does contribute with crossing as well, but his strongest asset is his ability to hold on to the ball and beat players in 1vs1 situations with ease, which makes him a much more valuable addition in and around the box, where he can gain an advantage and shoot.
His movement off the ball is equally important though, as his football intelligence results in him occupying key areas and offering quality passing options to his teammates. This directly impacts the team’s ball progression efforts.
The team’s new approach is to focus on players who can carry the ball forward and quickly disposition the opposition. Luciano Spalletti’s most frequently used 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations allow the Georgian more freedom on and off the ball, thanks to the improved coverage of the whole team.
This way, he can either stroll out wide, combining with his teammates or cut inside and provide an additional threat, freeing up space for the full-back on the left.
While Napoli’s pressing efforts are well-measured and they wouldn’t focus on high press intensity, the players are required to use their positioning smartly and rely on their anticipation skills for ball recovery.
Kvaratskhelia’s contribution in that aspect helps the team gain back possession in the advanced areas and his efforts often lead to the team creating a goalscoring opportunity.
Technical abilities and ball progression
The new addition’s technical abilities are what make his movement unpredictable and his attacking actions efficient. His smart movement drags the opposing players out of position in an effort to stop him, while his composure and dribbling skills allow him to take on them and carry the ball to the box unbothered.
His work under pressure is impressive and helps Napoli to progress the ball successfully through their opponents’ pressing structures and his movement provides his teammates with time and space to take on advanced positions.
His exploitation of the left wing is successful thanks to his ability to receive the ball in space and then carry it to goalscoring areas. He averages 3.3 progressive runs per 90, which help the team in breaking through defences and quickly moving the ball forward. Moving the ball to the half-spaces increases the team’s options up front and makes it easier to create one-touch pass combinations and be creative.
His composure, combined with his 8.46 dribbling attempts per game, make him difficult to be marked by the opposition and result in him moving to key areas. His ability to play with both feet makes it easier for him to escape pressuring situations, while his spatial awareness helps him in exploiting quality areas and creating multiple opportunities per game. His set of skills helps the team in taking advantage in 1vs1 situations and retaining possession for longer periods of time.
His technical abilities and pace are crucial in taking on the opposing players and exploiting the freed-up spaces, although his judgement of the situations needs some improvement. There is still certain immaturity in his actions and his decision-making can sometimes be questioned, but he starts to develop a better tactical understanding with the more experience he gains.
Attacking contribution
Kvaratskhelia is efficient in ball progression and creating opportunities for his team, but he is equally as efficient in taking advantage of such opportunities and converting them into goals. The 21-year-old often cuts inside and uses his positioning to threaten the goal both inside the box and from distance. He prefers to use his ball control to move out of his position on the flank and move centrally so he can disposition defenders and shoot.
His use of the half-spaces has provided the team with a whole different dynamic in attack. Averaging 6.02 touches in the penalty area is an impressive number for a winger and his placement in front of the goal makes it easier for him to demonstrate his distinguished finishing. Kvaratskhelia’s 4.16 shots per game result in increased attacking numbers for Napoli, whose attacking strategy has improved this term.
This season they average 18.78 shots, compared to last season’s 14.62. The Georgian has a direct contribution to these stats as he doesn’t only threaten the goal from close range but also frequently attempts shots from distance. His movement in and around the penalty area can be beneficial for the team in other aspects as well.
The opposing players often struggle in defending against skilful players like him and he suffers 1.58 fouls per game, which could result in attacking set-piece opportunities. He can have an impact in that area through his ability to take free kicks as well.
The new addition does still have his “winger” responsibilities and has to supply his teammates with crossing attempts, however, the accuracy of his actions isn’t very high, which makes him more valuable when being used as a direct threat. His ability to shoot and score with both feet makes his actions more unpredictable and he can easily lure defenders and goalkeepers in the direction he wants so he can finish the attacks successfully.
Kvaratskhelia represents Georgia since June 2019 and has already contributed to 18 games, scoring nine goals and assisting six more.
His role for his country is even more direct. He is used as а main threat in front of the goal and the manager Willy Sagnol employs him in different systems, including 3-4-2-1, 3-4-3 and 5-3-2, sometimes seeing him as a striker in the latter.
Conclusion
As our analysis shows, the youngster is the new hero in town and many of the expectations for a better performance this season lay on his back. At the time of writing, Napoli have shown the most consistency compared to Milan and Inter, who are expected to be the other title contenders this term and a lot of his has to do with Kvaratskhelia’s consistently strong displays that help the team in being that productive in attack.
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