De Zerbi is fast becoming the darling of EPL commentators and is hailed as the second coming of Jesus in EPL
Here is a question : which Italian coach had the biggest impact in premier league?
for me it is Conte, rarely any EPL team used a three man defence in the two decade prior of the season 2016-17 (Antonio first season @ Chelsea), four man defence was the default with the 4-4-2 the most used tactical setup. By 2020, the 3-man-defence was enjoying a revival as almost one third of the premier league were using the 3 man defence as their primary set up . https://theathletic.com/3098459/202...nd-what-it-tells-us-about-the-premier-league/
I think it was less about Mazzarri and Napoli forcing him to change it and more due to the fact that back then we had world class CBs and CMs but we didn’t have enough qualify in wide midfield/wing positions to play his preferred 4-4-2 or 4-3-3.
So the 3-5-2 let us play our best all at once and gave us more solidify in all areas of the field.