Ten-man Juve’s title bid falters with Empoli draw
Juventus’ bid for a first Serie A title in four years hit a stumbling block yesterday after Empoli snatched a surprise 1-1 draw from their 10-man hosts.
Tommaso Baldanzi stunned Turin’s Allianz Stadium in the 70th minute of a stodgy encounter with Scudetto pretenders Juve, who missed the chance to move four points clear of Inter.
Instead the league lead for Juve stands at two, meaning that Inter, who have two games in hand, will reclaim top spot if they win at fifth-placed Fiorentina today.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side had to play more than three quarters of the match a man down after Arkadiusz Milik was sent off in the 16th minute for a clumsy and dangerous foul on Alberto Cerri.
“We didn’t lose shape after going down to 10, rather we kept trying to win the game... I’m disappointed for the boys,” Allegri told DAZN.
Next weekend Juve, whose winning streak ended at seven matches in league and cup, travel to the San Siro for the socalled “Derby of Italy” with Inter after failing to put a proper cushion between them and their fiercest rivals.
“The Derby of Italy is always a great game, it’s a brilliant match to play and the stadium will be full. We’ll go there to put in a top performance and try to get a result,” Allegri said.
“They’re the best team in the league and favourites to win the title.”
Juve thought they were on course to secure the points when
Dusan Vlahovic poked them ahead four minutes after halftime following chaos at a corner.
That was the Serbia striker’s sixth goal in all competitions for Juve since the turn of the year.
But it wasn’t enough for the win as Baldanzi, who is rumoured to be leaving for Roma before the end of this transfer window, rolled home his low leveller through a sea of legs.
Werder bremen, Heidenheim 23; Wolfsburg 22; Borussia Gladbach, Augsburg 21; Bochum 20; Union Berlin 14; Cologne 12; Mainz, Darmstadt 11.
The draw failed pull Empoli out of the relegation zone as Davide Nicola’s team are in 19th place on 17 points, a point behind Cagliari and Udinese who sit just above the relegation zone.
“I’d keep any player I can from this squad because they’re showing me that they care and above that they have desire to improve,” said Nicola of Baldanzi.
Atl. Madrid vs Valencia ...... 21.00
Getafe vs Granada .............. 21.00
Real Madrid 54; Girona 52; Barcelona 44; Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao 41; Real Sociedad 36; Real Betis 34; Valencia 32; Las Palmas 31; Getafe, Deportivo Alaves 26; Osasuna 25; Rayo Vallecano 24; Villarreal 23; Mallorca 20; Celta Vigo 17; Sevilla 16; Cadiz 15; Granada 11; Almeria 6.
Nice vs Rennes ....................... 1-0
Udinese stayed within reach of Empoli after being beaten 2-0 at Atalanta, allowing their hosts to move into the Champions League places.
Aleksei Miranchuk and Gianluca Scamacca netted the decisive goals in the first half in Bergamo to push Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta two points above Fiorentina and into Italy’s top four in the standings.
Marseille vs Monaco .............. 2-2
C. Foot vs Strasbourg ........ 15.00 Lorient vs Le Havre ............ 15.00 Montpellier vs Lille ............ 13.00 Reims vs Nantes ................ 15.00 Toulouse vs Lens ................ 17.05 Paris SG vs Brest ............... 20.45
Paris Saint Germain 43; Nice 28; Brest, Monaco 34; Lille 31; Olympique Marseille, Reims 29; Lens 26; Stade Rennes 25; Racing Strasbourg 24; Le Havre 22; Montpellier, Nantes 18; Toulouse 17; Metz, Olympique Lyon 16; Clermont Foot 14; Lorient 12.
Fiorentina vs Inter .............. 20.45 Genoa vs Lecce ................... 12.30 Lazio vs Napoli ................... 18.00 Monza vs Sassuolo ...................... Verona vs Frosinone ....................
Salernitana vs Roma .......... 20.45
Bari vs Reggiana .................... 0-2 Como vs Ascoli ....................... 0-2 Cremonese vs Brescia ........... 1-0 FeralpiSalo vs Lecco ............. 5-1 Modena vs Parma .................. 3-0 Pisa vs Spezia ........................ 2-3 Sudtirol vs Cosenza ............... 0-1 Venezia vs Ternana ................ 1-0
Cittadella vs Sampdoria .... 16.15 Standings: Parma 45; Cremonese, Venezia 41; Como 39; Cittadella, Palermo 36; Catanzaro 34; Modena 31; Brescia 29; Reggiana 28; Cosenza, Bari 27; Pisa 26; Sudtirol 24; Sampdoria 23; Ascoli 22; Ternana 21; FeralpiSalo, Spezia, Lecco 20.