Luciano Spalletti Tactics At Napoli 2022/2023 – The Tactics Behind Napoli’s Title Dream

SSC Napoli are dominating Serie A. Italy’s football fans are enthusiastic not only about Napoli’s success but above all about the kind of football they play.

The country’s sports press speaks of “La Grande Bellezza”.

Has the race for the Scudetto already been decided, even though the first half of Serie A will only conclude this month?

Who can still endanger Napoli?

In any case, the Tifosi fans are dreaming of winning the club’s third title, after the historic championships of 1987 and 1990.

With the departures of Kalidou Koulibaly, Dries Mertens, and Lorenzo Insigne, it looked as if it were the beginning of the end for Napoli after an impressive third-place finish last season.

However, one of the most underrated and cheap transfer windows in recent history has seen all these players replaced by arguably much more dynamic teammates in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Kim Min-jae, Frank Anguissola, and several excellent loan players who have completely revolutionised Napoli.

In this tactical analysis in the form of a scout report, we’re going to take a look at the tactics behind their incredible start to the season.

This analysis will demonstrate how Luciano Spalletti has transformed Napoli into one of the most exciting teams in European football.

Luciano Spalletti Data Analysis 

Napoli’s fantastic start is reflected in the statistics: they are currently top of Serie A and finished first in the UEFA Champions League group stage.

But it doesn’t end there.

They defeated Juventus 5-1 recently and have scored more than any other team in both competitions, while averaging the highest expected goals and the most shots of any team.

So, let’s dive deeper into these numbers by looking at the starting XI and key players.

Luciano Spalletti preferred formation this season has been the 4-3-3, with the 4-2-3-1 also featuring on a few different occasions.

The players used have also been relatively consistent, with Alex Meret in goal and the back-four consisting of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Kim Min-jae, and Mário Rui.

The 25-year-old Kim Min-jae is the surprising star at the back for Napoli and has helped fill the void left by Koulibaly so far.

He averages the highest amount of passes per game in the league, helping the team break the first line of press.

At the same time, he is also an excellent defender, ranking in the top seven in the league for blocks. Not only that: he already has two goals to his name and is incredibly effective from set pieces.

Kim Min-jae Stats

The midfield of Stanislav Lobotka, Frank Anguissa, and Piotr Zieliński has featured the most, but Tanguy Ndombélé has also been a key player in the midfield three.

The two defensive midfielders are crucial for Napoli in picking up the ball between the lines and creating overloads out wide.

Zieliński has been excellent at supporting the attacks so far, with three goals and five assists to his name in Serie A.

He also ranks in the top 2.5% for expected assists in the league.

Piotr Zieliński Stats

Up top is where Napoli have been the most exciting this season.

They play with a front three of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Victor Osimhen, and either Matteo Politano or Hirving Lozano on the right flank, with Giacomo Raspadori also being a key player up top to replace Osimhen when needed.

Kvaratskhelia has taken the league by storm with seven goals and nine assists so far. He’s excellent at taking on opponents and will constantly drift into pockets of space where he can, before then attacking the backline.

Similarly, Osimhen is back to his best after a long injury last season, with twelve goals and four assists already.

He is constantly attacking the space behind the backline, looking for balls over the to,p and is always ready in the box to meet any crosses or cutbacks.

He currently ranks first in Serie A for expected goals per 90, at 1.02.

Victor Osimhen Stats

As a whole, Napoli is a team that likes to dominate the game, and so far, they’ve averaged the second-highest amount of possession in the league.

Their attacks have slightly favoured the left flank, with the most shots coming from the right side of the box, mostly from Kvaratskhelia cutting inside and finding players in this area.

These stats give us some good insight into how dangerous Napoli have been this season, with a very quick and vertical style of play that instantly puts the opposition on the back foot.

Luciano Spalletti Build-Up Play

When looking at Napoli’s build-up play, we can start to see the true genius of Spalletti’s tactics.

From goal-kicks, Napoli will almost always look to build from the back.

However, Spalletti is a manager who doesn’t insist on build-up play at all costs. If the moment is right, he encourages his team to play long balls into the three forwards.

Nonetheless, the initial structure is reminiscent of a 2-3-2-3 with the full-backs hugging the touchline and Lobotka in the centre. The two centre-backs have been excellent at coping with pressure.

They will comfortably rotate the ball, waiting for a gap to open up for the other two midfielders, or even for a pass over the top to Kvaratskhelia or Politano.

Similarly, Meret will also quickly look for a pass into the full-backs if the opposition presses too high or even into Osimhen, who can knock it down into one of the two Mezzalas.

They now have space ahead of them to attack the back line.

If the team struggles to find space, then one of the two midfielders — usually Anguissa — will look to drop deep to outnumber the press.

Doing this frees up space in the centre, which the winger can occupy. 

If the opposition is able to force them near the touchline, then a direct pass into the winger can also be extremely dangerous, as they can quickly knock it past the full-back and attack the space.

Luciano Spalletti In Possession

With Spalletti’s side being excellent at maintaining possession under pressure, the team can quickly gain ground and move into their second phase of play. During this, they look to maintain a similar 2-3-2-3 structure.

This allows the two wingers to move more centrally into the half-spaces, and for the full-backs to push up.

This also creates a triangle shape in the centre, with the holding midfielder and the other two midfielders holding positions behind the midfield line or dropping deep to receive the ball at times.

One of the two full-backs — usually Di Lorenzo — will drop to form a back three, creating a diamond shape in the centre for easier passing.

The midfield three adopts a staggered triangle shape in the centre, largely due to Zieliński’s preference for playing in a more central position.

This means the backline has several options for advancing the ball.

If there’s little space between the lines, then Zieliński will often come short, freeing up space for Kvaratskhelia to move inside and more easily link up play with Osimhen and Politano.

The combination of Kvaratskhelia dropping deep and Osimhen, Politano, and one full-back pushing up puts a lot of stress on the backline, which often breaks its shape to cover all these runs.

Kvaratskhelia’s positioning means he can often receive the ball with little pressure, then turn and attack the backline before making a pass. Furthermore, his more central positioning will often cause the defence to tighten its shape.

This means there is more space on the flank, which Napoli often exploits with long switches into the full-back.

Luciano Spalletti Attacking Phase

When entering the final third, Napoli will consistently create chances from the half-spaces.

Thanks to the midfielders and full-backs, Spalletti can always get at least four players on the backline, with the fifth player attacking these spaces and disrupting the defensive block.

The front five can be formed in many different ways. At times, the wingers are out wide, and it’s the midfielders that attack the half-spaces as the full-backs offer support.

On other occasions, the full-backs push up while the wingers are ready to make a run between the centre-back and the full-back, freeing up space for the midfielders on the edge of the box.

Finally, on other occasions, the midfielder can find themself out wide with the full-back in the half-space and the winger ready in the box for a cross to the front post.

Spalletti instructs his players to occupy dangerous spaces rather than fixed positions, and these constant rotations mean Napoli can very quickly expose weaknesses in the opposition’s defence and have plenty of options in the final third.

The structure on the opposition’s half will often resemble a 2-2-1-5, with the two centre-backs, one midfielder, and one inverted full-back providing defensive cover, and Zieliński on the edge of the box.

The front five consists of one full-back, one midfielder, and the three natural attackers.

Once the ball is in the box, it’s an almost guaranteed opportunity for Napoli.

Osimhen’s high-end pace means he can beat the defender to any balls in the box, and the wingers’ dribbling ability means they can always find space for an opportunity.

Napoli’s in-possession principles are among the most exciting in Europe and often create chances in unexpected ways.

Luciano Spalletti Defensive Phase

Napoli’s defensive discipline and structure are also worth noting, as they currently have the second-best expected goals against in the league.

While Napoli does look to win the ball back early, they aren’t an inherently aggressive team.

They also don’t tend to press very high up the pitch, as they are currently ranking outside the top five for pressing intensity.

From opposition goal-kicks, Osimhen will look to quickly close down and isolate the centre-backs in possession while the two wingers stay in a rather wide shape to prevent the ball from going to the full-back.

This forces a central pass into the midfielders, where Napoli are extremely aggressive and put as much pressure as possible on the midfielder receiving the ball.

This makes it much harder to make a play, so it will force a pass back, which is a trigger for Osimhen and the wingers to close down the pass and start their press.

This often results in teams facing Napoli looking to quickly play a ball over the top. However, the centre-backs are quick to close this space down and regain possession.

When falling back into their own half, the shape will often drop into a 4-5-1 or even a 5-4-1.

Osimhen stays up top to pressure the centre-backs while the two wingers are tasked with covering the full-backs.

Again, they are forcing play centrally, where the tight five-man block can quickly close down any players.

The main objective is to keep the two lines as tight as possible and force the opposition to cross into the box, where the centre-backs can clear the area and Napoli can regain possession.

If they get the ball, Osimhen’s positioning up top means the team can quickly move it to him, where he can lay it off to the wingers and start a dangerous, quick counterattack.

Conclusion

These tactics, combined with some incredibly exciting young talent, have taken Napoli to new heights, and there seems to be a whole new energy surrounding the club and its fans, with their eyes set on winning their first league title since the era of Diego Maradona.