Kvaratskhelia mania, British legend tips his hat

Gary Lineker also joined the chorus of praise for the Georgian player

After an excellent impact in the Italian league – there are already four goals scored, and all on action, in the first five matches – Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was expected to have his baptism of fire in the Champions League, against vice-champions Liverpool. The exam was passed with flying colors, with the Georgian dominating the opponent’s half of the field and authoring a wonderful assist for Simeone’s third goal.

In England, the Kvara cyclone was felt in spades, even at the level of judgments made by insiders, most notably that of Gary Lineker, a legend of English soccer.

“Khvicha Kvaratskhelia of Napoli is an exciting young player. I saw him against Lazio at the weekend and he was fantastic. He is as hard to deal with as he is to spell his name correctly,” the former Leicester, Everton, Tottenham and Barcelona bomber wrote on Twitter with his usual English irony.