Napoli striker compared to Maradona
In the 59th minute, receiving the ball from Victor Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia had two consecutive fake shots to twist Rafael Toloi's ribs and then finish the stretch to the near corner, while goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini poured to the left, clearing the deadlock. In this situation, up to eight Atalanta players, including Gollini, surrounded Kvaratskhelia in the penalty area, but could not stop the Georgian striker.
Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen have contributed to 43 of Napoli's 81 goals in all competitions this season, accounting for 51%. In particular, since being bought by Napoli for $ 10 million from the summer of 2022, Kvaratskhelia has had 15 assists and 12 goals in all competitions, including ten goals in Serie A and two in the Champions League.
According to Football Italy, Kvaratskhelia's "one-on-eight" goal has caused fever on social networks, and the striker has been compared to legends such as Maradona, Baggio, Zinedine Zidane or George Best. The player nicknamed Kvaradona by Napoli fans - after Maradona - also received praise from his idol Guti.
Football Italy considers Kvaratskhelia very dangerous in one-on-one situations close to the penalty area because he is ambidextrous. "Therefore, it would be difficult for defenders to predict which direction the Napoli striker would go and finish with his left foot or right foot. That made Kvaratskhelia unpredictable, and was shown perfectly with the goal on net Atalanta, when he dribbled and scored with a series of fake moves," this news site commented.
At the post-match press conference, coach Luciano Spalletti praised his students: "It was a goal worthy of Maradona, and I don't say that often. Kvaratskhelia has the ability to dribble and then finish very quickly. With this goal, we are reminded of the greatest player in the world."
Yesterday, after Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring, Amir Rrahmani sealed a 2-0 victory with a cross header in the 77th minute, from Eljif Elmas' cross. This result helps Napoli firmly build the top spot in Serie A with 68 points, 18 points more than Inter - the club lost to Spezia 1-2 in the early game - to 18 points.
Napoli's victory was not perfect when Alex Meret was injured before the ball started, and Min-jae Kim had a problem and made way for Juan Jesus from the 76th minute. However, coach Spalletti said Kim did not have a serious problem and was able to return to training immediately, and Meret sprained her wrist during the warm-up.
On March 15, Napoli received Frankfurt in the second leg of the 1/8 round of the Champions League. The Italian representative won 2-0 in the first leg thanks to Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Osimhen.
