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.