Napoli Vs Chelsea [2–3] – Champions League 2025/2026: How Game Management Cost Antonio Conte – Tactical Analysis

Napoli hosted Chelsea at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for the final fixture of the UEFA Champions League group stage, and Chelsea won 2-3.

Chelsea’s comeback secured them a direct qualification to the knockout round without having to go through the playoffs, as the win granted them the sixth spot in the standings.

Finishing among the first eight teams would not have been possible without the win against Napoli, and the powerful personality Chelsea showed in Italy to secure the comeback only confirms that the Blues are improving significantly, especially in terms of personality and teamwork.

On the other hand, Napoli missed their chance to qualify for the playoffs because of a misguided second-half approach that allowed Chelsea to win.

Napoli played convincingly in the first half but failed to capitalise on the numerous chances they created, and some of them went to waste.

Napoli should learn from this lesson and win more points before the final fixture to avoid putting themselves in risky situations, especially since they had opportunities to win points against Copenhagen, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Benfica.

Failing to earn more points in those games cost them the qualification ticket and will force them to compete only in Serie A and Coppa Italia going forward.

In this tactical analysis, we will focus on Napoli’s attacking performance, their recurring patterns and attacking weaknesses in this match.

Napoli Vs Chelsea Lineups & Formations

Antonio Conte started the match using a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Alex Meret as goalkeeper and a defensive line of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Juan Jesus, and Alessandro Buongiorno.

The midfield was composed of Stanislav Lobotka and Scott McTominay as central midfielders, Leonardo Spinazzola and Mathías Olivera as wing-backs, with Antonio Vergara and Eljif Elmas as wingers, and Rasmus Højlund as the main striker.

For Chelsea, Liam Rosenior started the match using a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Robert Sánchez between the sticks and a back four of Malo Gusto (right-back), Reece James (right centre-back), Wesley Fofana (left centre-back), and Marc Cucurella (left-back).

The midfield consisted of Andrey Santos and Moisés Caicedo as the double pivot, with Enzo Fernández playing in an advanced position as an advanced playmaker, on the same line as the wingers Estêvão and Pedro Neto.

And upfront, João Pedro was the team’s main striker.

Napoli Reliance On Underlaps & The Antonio Vergara Impact

Napoli conceded a goal early in the game after an error inside the penalty area led to a penalty, making their task more complicated from the start.

Napoli’s reaction to that first goal was excellent, as they have been good enough in bouncing back and launching dangerous and consistent attacks on Chelsea.