What PSG Fans Can Expect From Kvaratskhelia | OneFootball

On paper, Marseille and Monaco are Paris Saint-Germain’s two biggest threats to the Ligue 1 title, sitting 10 points and 13 points behind league leaders PSG, followed by Nice (14) and Lyon (15). However, they’re far from PSG’s bogeyman – that title is reserved for Stade de Reims. Reims returned to Ligue 1 in 2018/19 after two seasons in the second tier and finished a respectable eighth in the Ligue 1 table, losing 4-1 at PSG before winning their next two matches vs. Les Parisiens by a two-goal margin, but PSG would respond by winning their next five meetings with Les Rouges et Blancs.

Since then, Reims have managed to hold PSG to a draw in five of their last six encounters, a run that continued at the weekend. Having won their last five matches in all competitions as well as their last four league matches, PSG were thwarted in a 1-1 draw at the Parc des Princes despite having 18 shots to Reims’ 6 as well as 78% possession. It was a frustrating night for PSG, who are seeking a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 championship, but there was one player who delivered: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

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The Making of a Superstar

Born in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, Kvaratskhelia began his professional career at the age of 16 with Dinamo Tbilisi at age one before heading to Rustavi and eventually leaving for Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow on loan and taking his talents to Rubin Kazan on a permanent deal, winning the Best Young Player of the Russian Premier League in back-to-back seasons. Kvaratskhelia was forced to depart after his contract was suspended due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, returning to Georgia for a brief spell for Dinamo Batumi, where he was named the best player of the second round of the Erovnuli Liga season after registering eight goals, and two assists in 11 matches. This earned him a move to Napoli in the summer of 2022, with the Partenopei shelling out €12 million and signing him to a five-year deal.

It didn’t take long for him to make an impression, grabbing a goal and an assist on his debut at Hellas Verona before following that up with a brace in his first home match vs. Monza and being named the Serie A Player of the Month for August. He would claim this award again in February and March, proving instrumental during the home stretch of the campaign and emerging as a difference maker on the left side of attack for Napoli, who finally returned to the promised land and secured their first league title in 33 years. In his first-ever season in Europe’s top five leagues, Kvaratskhelia finished as the top assist provider in Serie A. He was named the UEFA Champions League Young Player of the Season and the Serie A MVP of 2022/23. All told, Kvaratskhelia racked up 17 assists in 43 appearances, as well as 14 goals – none more memorable than his effort against Atalanta, which would go on to win the Serie A Goal of 2023 and the Serie A Goal of 2022/23 season.

Atalanta and Napoli were locked in a goalless stalemate until the hour-mark, when Victor Osimhen teed up Kvaratskhelia at the edge of the box, who pivoted towards the right and looked set to unleash a rocket into the top corner, feigning to take a shot. There were three defenders in his vicinity – one turned their back in a desperate attempt to block the shot, and one lunged in to prevent a shot – but he fooled them all by cutting towards the left with the slightest of turns and breaking towards his right again to fashion out an acre of space. By this time, there were eight Atalanta players in the box trying to close him down, but they couldn’t prevent him from launching a firecracker into the upper left corner.

Kvaratskhelia would follow that up with 11 goals and nine assists in 45 appearances in an abysmal campaign for Napoli, who went through three different managers and finished 10th, the worst-ever title defense for a reigning Scudetto winner. He did, however, find joy at the international level – five years after making his Georgia debut, Kvaratskhelia led them to their first major tournament since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. After kicking off their Euros campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Türkiye, Georgia held Czechia to a 1-1 draw before pulling off one of the biggest shocks in the history of the tournament. Facing off against 2016 Euros winners Portugal, Georgia was able to take an early lead via Kvaratskhelia and hold on for a 2-0 win, qualifying for the Round of 16, where they lost to the eventual champions Spain.

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