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Napoli head coach Luciano Spalletti is counting on his star duo of Victor Osimhen and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia in the UCL tie against Eintracht Frankfurt
Napoli head coach Luciano Spalletti has been talking confidently about his team's chances against Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first-leg.
The Italian coach admitted that the game on Tuesday against Eintracht Frankfurt would be tough but he expressed confidence through his star players, Victor Osimhen and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Spalletti believes Eintracht Frankfurt have more experience than the Partenopei in knock-out games but can rely on Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who are "sending messages to World Football."
Spalletti confident in Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia
The 63-year-old tactician gave Eintracht Frankfurt their flowers in his pre-match press conference but was confident in the maturity of his star players, especially Osimhen.
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“In terms of maturity, I can mention Osimhen’s example. As soon as he felt a little problem with Sassuolo, he evaluated correctly, asking for a substitution. This is a player who can make the correct assessment," Spalletti said.
On Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia, Spalletti said, "these two players have the flair, the fantasy and the quality to send messages to World Football. At the same time, they are still very young. De Laurentiis and Giuntoli selected them from a big list of candidates."
The Italian coach expressed full confidence in his stars to deliver a positive result for Napoli, "I am convinced they will have the right attitude tomorrow.”
Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia have been arguably the best duo in European football this season, combining for 31 goals across all competitions.
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Spalletti on Napoli's chances against Eintracht Frankfurt
“They have more experience than us in knock-out games, but we’ve been trying to develop this in the last few games, playing without thinking about the little advantage we have in Serie A,” Spalletti said while evaluating the opposition.
Spalletti's assertion comes from the fact that Eintracht Frankfurt are the reigning champions of the Europa League which they won last season.
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Spalletti continued his assessment, “Eintracht are very aggressive but can also track back quickly. We all use different styles, but due to the quality in Europe, it’s very difficult to play constantly in the opposing half.”
Napoli come into this game as favourites having finished top of their group ahead of Liverpool while Eintracht Frankfurt qualified as the second-best team behind Tottenham.
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