Serie A is entering its final stages, and the battle for the title is becoming more and more intense. The 34th round of Serie A was played last weekend, the championship teams Inter Milan and AC Milan successfully defeated their respective opponents, all three points, continued to lead in the table, the other title-contending favourite Napoli suffered a heavy blow, in the case of two consecutive rounds of no wins, this round of away challenge Empoli, the result of Napoli relying on Mertens and Insigne goals, in the case of a 2-goal lead by Empoli in just 7 minutes in a row of 3 goals, after a tragic reversal, basically withdrew from this season's Serie A title battle.
In this match, Spalletti lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, starting at 260 million euros, Osmayne on the front line, with the support of Insigne, Mertens and Lozano, Fabian Ruiz, Anguissa forming a double back, Mario Rui, Juan Jesus, Lamani and Sanoli forming the backline, and the goalkeeper position is Meret. Empoli's 4-3-1-2 formation, with a starting value of only 52.3 million euros, is a big difference from Napoli, inter Milan veteran Pinamonti, Kutrone form a double forward.
The game began and the two sides quickly entered the rhythm of the game, and in the 3rd minute, Empoli was given a corner kick opportunity, and Pinamonti's header from inside the penalty area was deflected off the goal without being watched, missing a good opportunity to score. In the 7th minute, Fabian Ruiz broke through and cut inside to deflect a left-footed shot off the post on the edge of the penalty area. Osmayne then won consecutive headers on goal, but all of them were high. In the 27th minute, Empoli attacked from the front and Aslani's shot from inside the penalty area was slightly off the upright. In the 37th minute, Pinamonti won a one-handed opportunity, but after stopping the ball, he went a little bigger and was released by the goalkeeper. Empoli attacked with a lot of power, but napoli in the passive led in the 45th minute, Lozano crossed from the right, Mertens followed up with a shot from the middle to score, Napoli 1-0 lead to end the first half.
In the 52nd minute, Napoli attacked in front of the field, and Angu isa in the middle of the road to send a direct pass, Insigne quickly inserted into the box and pushed the goal from a small angle, Napoli took a 2-0 lead over Empoli. After a two-goal lead, napoli's attack slowed down and Empoli's attack gradually picked up, with Stojanovic, Varre and Pinamonti all getting good shots on goal, but all were defused by Napoli goalkeeper Meret.
The game entered the last 10 minutes, the field suddenly changed, in the 81st minute, Empoli actively scrambled in front of the field, after a successful steal, the ball came to the middle of the road, after the two players scrambled to fall at the back point, Henderson followed up in the box behind the point of the unguarded foot pumping, the ball into the net, Empoli pulled back a goal, 1-2 behind Napoli.
In the 84th minute, the Napoli goalkeeper made a major mistake, Pinamonti stepped inside the penalty area, blocked Meret's ball directly into the goal, and Empoli was lucky to equalize. 2-2 flat. At this moment, Merrette was possessed by Karius, and after the mistake, Merrette held his head and fell to the ground in pain, and Napoli's road to the title was cut off.
Empoli then became more and more courageous, in the 88th minute, Empoli attacked in front, the right side of the Barami burst into the middle to send a long diagonal pass, the middle of the pinamonti followed up to push the goal to score, to help Empoli reverse the score, after the goal Pinamonti stripped to celebrate, Empoli's entire bench celebrated wildly, as if winning the championship, the scene was out of control. In the end, Napoli was reversed 2-3 away from home by Empoli.
Judging from the post-match data, Empoli's possession rate is only 40%, but the number of shots on goal and the number of shots on target are more than Napoli, which shows how good Empoli's attack is. Napoli had 60% possession and 16 shots on goal, but only shot 2 feet on target. After this campaign, Empoli accumulated 37 points, 12 points higher than the relegation zone, and basically succeeded in relegation. Napoli, still with 67 points, seven points behind top of the table ac Milan, could announce their withdrawal from the title race.
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