In the Zone: Napoli's unsung heroes

The sign of a good player is his ability to rise to the occasion in the pivotal matches, and they don't come much bigger than the UEFA Champions League. While the likes of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giacomo Raspadori have grabbed the headlines for Napoli recently, two midfielders behind them have played equally significant roles.

In our FedEx Performance Zone stats dive for Matchday 3, we take a look at the displays to date of Piotr Zieliński and André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, who have both excelled during Napoli's flawless start to the group stage.

Zieliński has been a mainstay of the Partenopei's midfield for several seasons now but he had only found the net twice in 25 Champions League matches going into this campaign. He quickly doubled that tally with two goals (30 points) against Liverpool and also added an assist (nine points) – a display that put him third in the FedEx Performance Zone after Matchday 1.

The 28-year-old also netted with a long-range strike (18 points) in Napoli's sensational 6-1 win at Ajax on Matchday 3, while boosting his points total across their three matches so far with five ball recoveries (five points), seven shots on target (14 points) and 15 points for passing accuracy. Currently ninth in the rankings, his position would have been significantly higher had he not missed a penalty (minus six points) against Rangers.

Zambo Anguissa, who has covered more ground (33.6km) than any other player in Luciano Spalletti's ranks, has proved the perfect foil for his midfield partner. Though more defensively minded than Zieliński – 13 ball recoveries (13 points) is testament to that – the 26-year-old has provided his fair share of creative sparks too.

A goal (15 points) against Liverpool and a trio of assists (27 points) in their next two games are an impressive haul for someone playing a holding role, while his passing statistics are similarly eye-catching. Across Napoli's three outings, Anguissa's accuracy has ranged from 79% (three points) against Rangers to 87% (six points) versus Ajax and 90% (nine points) against Liverpool. Little wonder Anguissa is the highest-ranked deep-lying midfielder (13th place) in the FedEx Performance Zone at present.