Despite both sides being reduced to 10 men, neither could find a winning goal as Roma were held 1-1 by Empoli at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday night.
A Kostas Manolas foul led to an Empoli penalty which Massimo Maccarone put away to give Empoli the lead, but Rudi Garcia’s half-time team talk paid dividends as Maicon put the Giallorossi on level terms. Both sides put pressure on each other in a second half, but neither side could find the winning goal.
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Roma
Morgan De Sanctis – 6 – Silent
The Italian couldn’t really do anything about the goal he conceded as he was sent the wrong way by Maccarone for the penalty. Stopped Empoli attacks and played sweeper keeper when he was needed.
Maicon – 8 – Smart
The Brazilian ran down the right wing on various occasions and got into a lot of attacking positions which eventually produced the equalizer for the Giallorossi. The 33-year-old showed his experience when he received the ball of Pjanic and decided to shoot with his left foot to save a point for Roma.
Kostas Manolas – 5 – Foolish
The Greek defender was strong in defence and blocked Maccarone a couple of times while he was on the field to prevent possible goals, but his poor tackle on Saponara led to an Empoli penalty along with a red card.
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa – 6 – Strong
After recently signing for Roma permanently after a loan deal from Newcastle, the 25-year-old was a brick wall in defence. He blocked several runs from Valdifiori and Pucciarelli as well as helping out in attack, when good positioning allowed him to have a header that went just wide of the goal.
Jose Holebas – 6 – Wasteful
A couple of shots from the Greek international were close and he looked dangerous on the counter attack. However, the 30-year-old’s pace got the better of him during some counter attacks, as his tiredness led to making the wrong decisions.
Miralem Pjanic – 7 – Assist
The Bosnian assisted Maicon’s goal, and he also showed good vision on other occasions when he played attackers into promising positions.
Seydou Keita – 6 – Defensive
He stopped Valdifiori a couple of times to prevent promising Empoli chances. The 35-year-old was also key in stopping several Azzurri counter attacks which allowed Roma to have a share of the points.
Radja Nainggolan – 8 – Threatening
The Belgian produced some excellent through balls and showed skill on various occasions to get into shooting positions. Unfortunately, the 26-year-old’s power meant his shots went over the bar.
Juan Iturbe – 6 – Unfortunate
The 21-year-old showed signs that he could play a key role in the game after having a couple of shots on goal, but he was unlucky to have to be subbed off in the first half due to injury.
Francesco Totti – 6 – Quiet
Roma survived without their talisman after the Italian was substitued off following Empoli’s header. The 38-year-old wasn’t that effective in the time he was on the pitch.
Adem Ljajic – 6.5 – Eager
He set up substitute Florenzi various times and played well with the ball. The Serbian looked most likely to score a winner for Roma, but he didn’t get a goal due to keeping the ball for too long.
Substitutes
Alessandro Florenzi – 6 – Power
The Italian was quiet for the most of the time he was on the pitch. He did get a few chances, however his shots often went wide or over the bar as they were too powerful and off target.
Davide Astori – 6 – Risky
A header from the Italian hit the bar which was the closest Roma came to grabbing a winner, but at the back he made a few mistakes which nearly led to Empoli snatching all three points
Daniele Verde -N/A
Empoli
Luigi Sepe – 6.5 – Present
Unfortunate to concede the goal after quick thinking by Maicon. Otherwise, the 23-year-old looked confident and decisive in the Empoli goal.
Elseid Hysaj – 6 – Quiet
The Albanian didn’t make a huge impact in the game, but wasn’t at fault either. The 20-year-old did what he had to do well.
Daniele Rugani – 6 – Strong
The young defender blocked a couple of shots from Florenzi and looked solid in the Empoli defence.
Federico Barba – 6 – Normal
Similar to Hysaj, Barba did his job and didn’t influence events on either side of the pitch.
Mario Rui – 7 – Successful
The 23-year-old was successful when marking Florenzi, as he managed to block a few shots and prevent him from running past the Portuguese international.
Matias Vecino – 6.5 – Quiet
One of the many Empoli players who coach Maurizio Sarri will be content with. It would be wrong to say Empoli couldn’t have survived without Vecino on the pitch, but without him a certain stability within the side would have vanished.
Mirko Valdifiori – 6.5 – Threatening
The 28-year-old found himself in promising attacking positions quite often, but failed to make the most of them before he was substituted off.
Daniele Croce – 6 – Pressure
The 32-year-old put pressure on Nainggolan when he looked likely to score. Without the Italian, Empoli probably would have conceded a winning goal to Nainggolan.
Riccardo Saponara – 5.5 – Fluctuant
The 23-year-old was clever in conceding Empoli’s penalty, but that intelligence turned to stupidity when the Italian youngster received a second yellow card for handball and was sent off.
Massimo Maccarone – 7 – Target man
He scored the penalty which put Empoli ahead, and before he was subbed off the 35-year-old was relied on in the penalty area and looked likely to score.
Manuel Pucciarelli – 6 – Builder
The 23-year-old ran well with the ball and looked promising on Empoli attacks, but couldn’t make the impact he would have liked despite being in good positions quite often.
Substitutes
Piotr Zielinski -6 – Stable
The substitute didn’t have a strong influence on the game, but kept his side stable after they went down to 10 men.
Levan Mchedlidze – 6 – Pacey
The 24-year-old was quick when attacking but couldn’t get past defender Astori to get through on goal and put De Sanctis under pressure.
Franco Signorelli – N/A
