KOUNDÉ HAD ONE OF HIS BEST PERFORMANCES OF THE SEASON
Jules Koundé 'ate' Kvaratskhelia and vindicated himself when it was most needed
Published:13/03/2024 - 01:25h
Updated:13/03/2024 - 07:32h
FC Barcelona achieved a resounding victory against Naples (3-1) to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Champions League. This was possible thanks, among other things, to the outstanding performance of the defensive line, where Jules Koundé shone with a solid and assertive performance
The football is a sport of group in which it is difficult to arrive far without a good collective operation, but where the individualities call the attention of the rivals and often stands out to some players above the rest. In the case of the Naples, there were two figures stood out: Victor Osimhen and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, two latent threats with which the FC Barcelona went to have to lidiar during the 90 long minutes of commitment.
The combined Barcelona finally devised them to him to keep to line to both 'cracks', leaving them in a paper merely testimonial and did with the victory in front of the combined 'Partenopeo' (3-1). Osimhen Went to have to 'dance' with Pau Cubarsí that forgot that only it has 17 years of age, that was debuting the UEFA Champions League and that had at the front to one of the best forwards of the world, and topped a worthy performance of one of the best defenders of the actuality. Even it finished erigiéndose as 'MVP' of the commitment.
But, who went to brake to Kvaratskhelia? The answer arrived of the hand of Jules Koundé, the defender, the one who acted like right side, rid a 'battle' against the georgiano during 89 minutes and went out victorious. The French showed big solidity in his position, being relentless in the individual duels against one of the best regateadores of the tournament. In fact, 'Kvaradona' did not attain to surpass it in any occasion, what minimised the damage that the '77' could cause by the left side. The Parisian fits to stand out, formed a good 'tandem' defensive with Lamine Yamal, the one who also went down in several occasions to throw a hand in works of pressure and recovery of balloons.
The performance of Jules Koundé in front of the Naples in numbers
Regarding the statistics, Koundé also left numbers very interesting. It made four clear, three anticipations and an entrance in the 90 minutes of game. Besides, it did not lose any aerial duel and won four of the eight terrestrial crosses that had, committing only a fault. His performance was really flawless in a position that is not his and in which it saw forced to play because of the circumstances. It was distant a lot of Jules 'endeble' that had seen in previous parties.
To offensive level, although it is not his strong point, also had a good performance. It received the ball in 70 occasions, showing precision in the long passes when hitting seven of eight attempts. Also it had good figures regarding deliveries in short, completing 36 of the 45 tried. The Frenchman topped an especially stood out performance in the offensive appearance, in a band where Lamine Yamal is the main attendant of the attacks and the incursions.