Football is a team sport in which it is difficult to go far without good collective functioning, but where individualities attract the attention of rivals and certain players are often highlighted above the rest. In the case of Napoli, there were two outstanding figures: Victor Osimhen and Kvicha Kvaratskheliatwo latent threats that FC Barcelona was going to have to deal with during the 90 long minutes of the match.
The Barça team finally managed to keep both ‘cracks’ at bay, leaving them in a merely testimonial role and won against the ‘Partenopeo’ team (3-1). Osimhen was going to have to ‘dance’ with a Pau Cubarsí who forgot that he is only 17 years old, that the UEFA Champions League was making its debut and that it had one of the best forwards in the world at the helm, and crowned a performance worthy of one of the best defenders today. He even ended up becoming ‘MVP’ of the engagement.
But who was going to stop Kvaratskhelia? The answer came from the hand of Jules Koundé, the defender, who acted as a right back, fought a ‘battle’ against the Georgian for 89 minutes and emerged victorious. The Frenchman showed great solidity in his position, being relentless in individual duels against one of the best dribblers of the tournament. In fact, ‘Kvaradona’ did not manage to overcome him on any occasion, which minimized the damage that ’77’ could cause on the left side. It is worth highlighting that the Parisian formed a good defensive ‘tandem’ with Lamine Yamal, who also came down on several occasions to lend a hand in pressure work and recovering balls.
Jules Koundé’s performance against Napoli in numbers
Regarding statistics, Koundé also left very interesting numbers. He made four clearances, three anticipations and one tackle in the 90 minutes of play. Furthermore, he did not lose any aerial duels and won four of the eight land crosses he had, committing only one foul. His performance was truly impeccable in a position that is not his and in which he was forced to play due to circumstances. He was a far cry from the ‘weak’ Jules seen in previous matches.
On an offensive level, although it is not his strong point, he also had a good performance. He received the ball 70 times, showing precision in long passes by making seven of eight attempts.. He also had good numbers when it came to short deliveries, completing 36 of the 45 attempted. The Frenchman crowned a particularly outstanding performance in the offensive aspect, in a gang where Lamine Yamal is the main person in charge of attacks and raids.