Europa League 2021/22: How Napoli took advantage of Leicester’s tactical weaknesses to advance – tactical analysis

Serie A title contenders Napoli hosted Premier League strugglers Leicester City in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday in the final game of the group phase.

The stakes were high in this match and the players, coaching staff, and supporters from both sides were made well aware of what a poor result in this fixture could mean for either team.

The Foxes were top of the group heading into Thursday night’s battle at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona with seven points while the Azzurri were also on seven but had a worse head-to-head record.

A loss for either team meant they would be heading out of the Europa League and down into the playoffs for the UEFA Europa Conference League

Unfortunately for Brendan Rodgers’ side, it was them who were put to the sword and the Northern Irishman’s tenure at the King Power Stadium is increasingly under the microscope given the team’s poor form this season.

The game was excellent from a tactical perspective which resulted in a wonderfully entertaining game of football in Naples with Luciano Spalletti’s side coming away with a 3-2 victory.

This article will be a tactical analysis of the European game. It will be an analysis of the tactics deployed by both sets of managers which resulted in Napoli taking all three points.

Lineups and formations

Napoli have been in some turbulent form recently which has put a massive dent in their hopes of winning Serie A this season. Spalletti rotated quite a lot of players as the home side have some tough fixtures coming up, beginning with Empoli at home before a visit to the San Siro to take on table-toppers Milan.

The Italian coach has switched between a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 recently but opted to go with the latter against the 2016 Premier League champions.