In the Champions League final on Saturday, Kvaratskhelia will attempt to defeat Inter Milan 2-0. The Georgian is hoping to do the same with Paris Saint-Germain.
Kvaratskhelia, 24, relocated from Napoli to Paris in January for a reportedly 70 million euros ($79.2 million) plus bonuses.
Despite missing last weekend’s French Cup final victory over Reims as a precautionary measure due to a minor fitness issue, he is expected to play a significant part in Luis Enrique’s side’s clash with Inter in Munich.
Perhaps he had been celebrating his former club’s Serie A success the night before the match when Napoli won the Scudetto.
Despite “Kvara,” one of Napoli’s stars, leaving the team in the middle of the season, being awarded their second Italian league championship in three campaigns, the team won the title in 2023.
He played a crucial role in the first 10 Serie A games under Antonio Conte, scoring five goals in the process, with only four Napoli players coming away from the campaign with more goals, including Scott McTominay, when he earned the nickname “Kvaradona” at the club where Diego Maradona is an icon.
Kvaratskhelia can therefore be awarded both an Italian league championship medal and a league league medal for his contribution to PSG’s domestic success.
However, his move to PSG has really helped the French side in Europe, where the extra competition for starting spots has helped to bring out the best in Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, and Desire Doue.
The left-winger who enjoys playing with his socks rolled down around his ankles also fits perfectly into coach Luis Enrique’s system, which demands that the attackers do their part to defend the team.
He “is perfectly adapted to our playing style.” He has a lot of versatility. He can defend as well as go past players, which is crucial because we need to be able to attack and defend as 11 players, according to Luis Enrique in January. He “fits into our philosophy of football play.”
The Coach Is The Superstar in Luis Enrique’s New-Look PSG can be read here.
Already the key for PSG
In his 24 appearances for PSG, Kvaratskhelia has so far scored six goals and six assists, including a magnificent strike against Aston Villa in the Champions League semi-final and the pass that gave Dembele the winning goal away to Arsenal in the semis.
Luis Enrique is convinced that Kvaratskhelia’s presence was crucial to his team’s travel to Munich despite the fact that PSG had already started to turn around after the former Rubin Kazan player’s slow start this season.
“The way the attackers assist us has improved defensively,” says one analyst. The defense is exceptional, and the statistics show how many balls they recover for us,” the coach said last week.
One of the in-form Doue or the lively Barcola will have to start on the bench if Kvaratskhelia is to start in the starting XI, which means the PSG boss still has to make a difficult decision about which of his four main attackers to leave out of the front three on the night.
Even if Simone Inzaghi’s side did well against him at Napoli, his experience playing Inter might be valuable.
Kvaratskhelia has never scored against his former club and has only won once in six of their six matches.
“Technically, he’s a special player, so it won’t be easy,” remarked Denzel Dumfries, the Dutch right wing-back for Inter, who is likely to be in direct opposition to Kvaratskhelia on the night.
Will Inter get his hands on another winner’s medal on Saturday, or will he be celebrating at his expense?
Source: Channels TV
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