This season’s Serie A title race has become one of the most unpredictable in recent times. With many predicting Inter Milan to repeat last season’s success, their city rivals AC Milan are currently top of the table.
There has been more discussion and attention on which of the Milan clubs are likely to win the league, but it is Napoli who have gone quietly about their business both on and off the field that the media and pundits are overlooking.
The Neapolitans are currently sitting in second place, three points behind Milan and three points ahead of Inter. They have only been outside of the top three places once since the second week of the season and currently hold the best defensive record in Serie A.
In this tactical analysis, we will review the stand-out tactics of Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli reign so far. This analysis will give a greater understanding of Napoli’s tactical approach and examine why they are still in contention for this season’s Scudetto.
Possession and positional play
As you can see from the graphic below Luciano Spalletti tends to set Napoli up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and after that, they opt for a 4-3-3.
The 4-3-2-1 and 4-3-3 formations give the team more balance in both the attacking and defensive phases.
Under Luciano Spalletti, Napoli always look to control the game by keeping possession of the ball for longer periods. They average 59.2 % possession per match, which is the highest in Serie A. Along with that they have completed more passes than any other team in the league and have the highest pass completion rate at 86.1%.
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