Empoli held Genoa to a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Carlo Castellani in their Sunday afternoon Serie A fixture.
A first half goal from M’Baye Niang seemed enough to condemn the home side to defeat, but a contentious equaliser from Federico Barba ensured both sides shared the points.
The first chance came of the game came from a set piece: Daniele Rugani found himself in a mix up with Tomas Rincon in the box, but referee Fabio Maresca pulled play back for an earlier offense following the corner.
The away side responded, when Iago Falque cross was lifted into the box, Niang seemed ideally placed to thunder it past Luigi Sepe, but his header was deflected behind for a corner.
Just before the half hour mark, the Grifone took the lead. Niang picked up the ball on the edge of the area and broke away from the defenders, before placing his shot past Sepe for his third of the season.
Empoli had their chances to equalise before half time, substitute Federico Barba found he’d timed his run perfectly from a corner, but sadly could only send his header over Mattia Perin’s crossbar.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side came out firing on all cylinders. Falque had the ball played into feet by Niang, but Rugani cleared the ball away just in time.
Empoli had one of their best chances of the game when Mario Rui went on a winding run past the Genoa defenders, feeding it through to Francesco Tavano who in turn released Simone Verdi, who’s powerful shot went straight into the side netting.
Genoa may have been on the back foot but they showed fantastic resilience, epitomised by an interception by Facundo Roncaglia denying Massimo Maccarone a clear sight of goal.
With the vast majority of Empoli’s chances coming from set pieces, it would make sense that they would equalise from a corner. Barba ran across the path of Perin to squeeze the ball over the line and level the score, with replays showing the decision was a close call.
The Azzurri decided to go for the jugular, with Maccarone coming close to giving them the lead, but his effort from close range was saved by Perin brilliantly. Genoa’s last chance of the game came from a speculative overhead kick from substitute Juraj Kucka.
Gasperini’s team continue their unbeaten run in the middle of the table, but appear to have lost some of their early momentum, this being their third 1-1 draw in a row.
The situation couldn’t be more different for Maurizio Sarri as the result plunges his side back into a relegation battle, taking them to 14 draws this beingthe most so far this campaign.
Follow Louis Gibberd-Thomas on Twitter: @mercutio156
