Napoli Vs Qarabağ [2–0] – Champions League 2025/2026: How Antonio Conte’s Trust in Noa Lang & David Neres Transformed Napoli’s Attack – Tactical Analysis

Napoli faced the Azerbaijani side, Qarabağ FK, in the fifth fixture of the UEFA Champions League group stage and won by two goals, in a very tricky match that could have gone the other way if Napoli had not been determined and disciplined enough to win.

Qarabağ proved in the previous fixtures of this UEFA Champions League season that they are capable of beating and unsettling any team, even when playing away.

With wins away against Benfica and against Copenhagen, and a 2-2 draw against Chelsea, Qarabağ have already shown their ability to play without fear against the bigger teams and secure positive results.

Their most remarkable strengths are the technical abilities of their players across all positions and the disciplined organisation of their lines, which allow them to play modern football based on quick, accurate short passing and penetrations into the box, relying on wingers and midfielders.

What is even more remarkable with Qarabağ is that they don’t hesitate to press high and play with a cautious high defensive line.

This allows them to be very aggressive with their initial high pressing, leading opponents to lose the ball in their build-up phase and then exploiting those recoveries with powerful shots from distance.

It counts for Napoli that they resisted Qarabağ’s high-pressing efforts and their attempts to score early in the game, progressively gaining more possession and advancing more frequently as they overcame that initial high pressing.

It is true that Napoli also conceded a few dangerous chances after losing the ball in their own half, but defending well against Qarabağ’s players and limiting their penetration and shooting attempts were crucial for the Azzurri to avoid conceding goals in this match.

With this win, Gli Azzurri took another step towards qualification for the knockout round playoffs, having only four points before the start of this match.

The victory over Qarabağ allowed them to climb to 18th place with 7 points, 2 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw.

In this tactical analysis of the match between Napoli and Qarabağ, our attention will be directed to exploring Napoli’s attacking solutions in this match.

The analysis will shed light on the David Neres and Noa Lang duo and its impact on Napoli’s attacking performance, as well as Napoli’s reliance on the right flank/wing to break down Qarabağ’s defensive lines.

Napoli Vs Qarabağ Formations & Lineups

Antonio Conte preferred to start this match with a similar lineup to that which played in the latest Serie A match against Atalanta, in the 3-4-2-1 formation, with Vanja Milinković-Savić as goalkeeper, and a defensive line of Sam Beukema, Alessandro Buongiorno, and Amir Rrahmani.

The midfield featured Stanislav Lobotka and Scott McTominay as central midfielders, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Mathías Olivera as wing-backs, with Neres and Lang forming a new attacking lineup as wingers alongside the main striker, Rasmus Højlund.

Conte switched to the 4-4-2 formation later in the game following the addition of Matteo Politano as a right wing-back, with Di Lorenzo moving to right-back and Lang to left wing-back, leaving Neres and Højlund as the attacking duo.

On the other hand, Gurban Gurbanov preferred to start with the 4-2-3-1 formation, with Mateusz Kochalski as goalkeeper, Matheus Silva as right-back, Behlul Mustafazade and Kevin Medina as centre-backs, and Elvin Cafarguliyev as left-back.

The midfield comprised Marko Janković and Pedro Bicalho as central midfielders, Abdellah Zoubir as the advanced playmaker, Leandro Andrade and Emmanuel Addai as wingers, and Camilo Durán as the main striker.

Napoli New Attacking Variation: The David Neres-Noa Lang Winger Duo & Their Potential Improvements

Following their successful performance in the latest match against Atalanta, Conte preferred to give more confidence to both Lang and Neres on the wings, and this reliance on both players paid off again.

In fact, Lang is a very dangerous player who masters one-on-one dribbling in a remarkable, accurate way.

It is fair to say that Conte should not have left him on the bench for so long, and giving him more playing time since the start of the season would have helped Napoli greatly by providing additional reliable attacking options.

Napoli has no reliable left-wingers apart from Lang.

Despite that, Conte preferred to experiment with other players by using them out of position, such as McTominay and Leonardo Spinazzola, at the expense of using a proper, dangerous left winger like Lang.

Conte has finally acknowledged the potential of a player like Lang to improve the team’s attacking performances, as he has started using him more regularly lately.

And with Neres providing a solid backup option to Politano, Napoli is becoming much more powerful attacking-wise as they expand their options.

During this match, the reliance on Lang and the belief in his outstanding abilities in one-on-one duels were obvious, as Napoli made the tactical tweaks needed to put him in those situations and avoid putting him in numerical inferiority against Qarabağ defenders.

Mathías Olivera Role In Liberating Noa Lang On The Left-Wing

To do this, the left wing-back Olivera was instructed to advance each time, becoming a left-advanced playmaker or a left-central midfielder most of the time.

This was done to liberate Lang on the left wing, attract Qarabağ’s players internally before serving Lang on the wing, and make him receive the ball in perfect conditions for dribbling and creating the needed threat against his direct opponent.

The following picture illustrates one of the many times this action has been reproduced during the match, with Olivera’s role being fundamental in allowing Lang to find more space and time on the left wing.

Noa Lang Key Passing Room For Improvement

Even though Lang has started to prove himself as a very promising left winger within the Napoli team, there are still some adjustments needed for him to help his team break opposing defences, especially in more challenging games and against bigger teams.

Being more decisive and knowing when and how to punish defensive lines with key passes is something that Lang still needs to work on in order to become an even more useful winger.

If Lang improves his passing, Napoli’s attacking trio will become much more dangerous in dribbling, passing, and goalscoring, which would be extremely helpful to the starting striker, whether Højlund or Romelu Lukaku, in the near future.

The following picture shows one of the occasions when Lang could have been more decisive and more accurate with his passing, as he failed to serve Højlund accurately despite noticing the striker’s movement and the opportunity to provide a key pass between the opponent’s defenders.

Avoiding precipitation and focusing on the quality of passing would certainly make Lang a better passer for Napoli, and that’s also the duty of the coaching staff.

Noa Lang Dangerous Left-Footed Crosses & David Neres Finishing

That said, Lang’s room for improvement lies in his key passes, not his crosses, as he has been providing some excellent ones during this match.

And what is even more remarkable is that he used his left foot to deliver some of these crosses with accuracy, creating a lot of danger from the left flank.

What made these crosses dangerous was that both Neres and McTominay moved a lot without the ball and were difficult to mark in the final third.

Neres was particularly capable of getting close to Lang at times, attacking the space down the right wing at other times, and positioning himself inside the box when the occasion arose.

During this chance, he anticipated Lang’s potential cross.

He went inside the box to finish with power and accuracy by exploiting the space behind Højlund, who was positioned on the near post.

This was one of the chances that saw both Lang and Neres involved in creating threats for Napoli through passing and finishing, and Neres’ finishing on this occasion further confirms his ability to be extremely dangerous inside the box.

Opting for an acrobatic volley very quickly and succeeding in coordinating his body to do so with the needed accuracy means that Neres is already a very finisher who just needs to confirm his finishing talent with goals.

In this action, the credit also goes to the goalkeeper for making the save, even though Olivera was not reactive enough to win the second ball before the defender.

Napoli Line-Breaking Crosses To The Right-Wing

Napoli focused heavily on using vertical crosses to the right wing, whether to Neres in the first place or also to Di Lorenzo, who made a few attacking penetrations.

Neres’ ability to attack the space left by Qarabağ’s defence was very useful in this match, as he used his pace well to get behind the defenders and anticipate his teammates’ crosses.

This was a recurrent key tactic in the match as Napoli created a large part of their attacking actions thanks to crosses that surpassed Qarabağ’s defenders and reached Neres.

Nevertheless, Neres did not always deal well with the crosses he received, looking hesitant at times and unable to decide whether to cross or shoot.

He was lucky on one occasion when he crossed the ball in a way that looked like a shot and hit the crossbar, but on the following occasion, he attempted a cross that was neither powerful nor precise enough to be considered a shot, as it was not aimed at Lang either.

Failing to be crucial and determined in terms of decision-making inside the final third is something that Neres definitely needs to work on in order to be more decisive and exploit the received passes/crosses in a more efficient way.

The following opportunity gives Neres the time to notice Lang’s position and provide him with an accurate cross without issue.

However, Neres was hesitant and, at the same time, tried to cross the ball with haste, leading to a missed golden chance.

Both Lang and Neres share the issue of precipitation in key moments, and that’s something that both of them need to get rid of progressively in order to be more decisive on key occasions, especially against tougher opponents.

David Neres Passing & Decision-Making Inside The Box

Even though Neres has put on one of his best performances with Napoli so far, there are some details he needs to focus on improving to put on even more convincing performances, especially against tougher teams.

In particular, Neres’ decisions inside the box and the timing of his passing deserve attention, as he has shown in this match that he sometimes fails to serve his teammates at the right time.

Being overconfident in his ability to beat any opponent and in his ability to pass after dribbling can lead to losing the ball and missing dangerous chances, as shown below.

Neres need to become more aware of when he should play with first-touch passes in order to guarantee that the ball reaches his teammate who is better-positioned to shoot, and when to rely on his solo efforts to dribble past players and then provide a pass or opt for shooting.

Keeping the ball at his feet every time he receives it might lead to losing it frequently in each match, as defenders can put him in difficult situations.

Therefore, Neres will have to be more intelligent with his decision-making inside the box, especially when his teammates offer passing options.

In this action, Neres was good enough in exploiting the space behind the opponent’s defensive line on the right wing once again, receiving the ball in a key area and insisting on opting for the solo effort despite being chased down by Medina.

During this action, it would have been wiser to directly provide a through pass to Lang, who was waiting in a perfect goalscoring position.

Making the most of such opportunities will surely make Neres much more valuable and useful to Napoli, especially against teams that defend well.

Conclusion

It is important to note that McTominay brought multiple attacking solutions to Napoli as well, thanks to his solo penetrations, key passes, and exceptional finishing.

With the already established attacking weapons like McTominay, Politano, and Højlund, the reliance on Neres and Lang, and the very positive performances of both players, Napoli can only become a more dangerous attacking team.

And with the potential return of Lukaku from injury soon, as well as the return of Kevin De Bruyne in February, Conte will have varied attacking solutions to use according to form, opponents, and match fitness.