Juventus hold on to beat Empoli 3-2. The visitors took the lead through Kean's headed effort before Zurkowski poked in an equaliser after a scramble following a corner. Vlahovic restored Juve's lead with the last kick of the first half though, coolly slotting in from close range, and he got his second in the 66th minute with a lovely chip over Vicario. La Mantia came off the bench to pull one back after Juve struggled to clear another corner, but they couldn't find an equaliser.
Juventus' unbeaten run extends to nine games in all competitions, and they've ended their drawing streak. They stay in fourth, now seven points behind leaders Milan. Next up for them is Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg. Empoli's search for a win goes on, and they stay in 13th. The travel to Genoa next weekend.
That's all for today, goodbye!
Cronaca
Formazioni
Statistiche
90'+5'
FULL-TIME: EMPOLI 2-3 JUVENTUS. 19:59
90'+3'
Asllani's free-kick from the left is whipped in and Bonucci half clears it in the middle. It goes as far as Zurkowski, who clips a good ball into the middle, but Szczesny manages to flap it away under pressure from Luperto.20:05
90'+1'
Bonucci's attempted clearance actually ends up being a good header out to Asllani down the left. He whips a dangerous cross into the far post and La Mantia is just beaten to it by Pellegrini.19:55
89'
Juventus are dropping deeper into their own half as Empoli keep the pressure on them. It's patiently worked out to Verre down the left, but Henderson can't bring his cross down at the near post. 20:05
87'
Asllani's throughball is cut out by Arthur and Juventus break on the counter-attack. Morata is making good progress through the middle until Henderson steps in to cut it out.20:05
85'
And Stojanovic is also taken off, with Henderson on in his place. 19:50
85'
There's a double change for Empoli now as they look to find a late equaliser. Bajrami makes way, with Verre on to replace him.19:49
84'
Another corner to Empoli and it's a deep one from Bajrami this time. Parisi runs onto it but ends up slicing his shot well wide of the near post. 20:06
82'
Cuadrado loses Benassi with a clever bit of footwork and slots it through to Morata ahead of him on the right. He fizzes a low cross into the middle, but it's cleared by Luperto.19:46
80'
CLOSE! Empoli are still pushing for an equaliser here and they work it well from right to left. Parisi swings a great cross into the middle and Bonucci does just enough to hit it against La Mantia, which takes it bouncing wide.19:44
78'
De Ligt is down for Juventus, and it looked like he landed awkwardly on his ankle. He's quickly back to his feet after treatment though, and he'll be able to carry on.20:07
76'
Amidst the scramble in the box, Luperto reacted quickly to keep the attack alive for his side and ended up setting up the goal.20:07
76'
LA MANTIA PULLS ONE BACK! The free-kick is headed off the line and onto the bar by Bonucci and Juventus are all over the place in the box. Luperto reacts quickest and manages to get it into La Mantia, who hits it first time into the near bottom corner. 3-2!
Morata goes down after Luperto blocks his shot, and doesn't get the penalty he's looking for as Empoli break. Benassi drives down the left and he's caught just outside the left side of the box by Arthur.19:40
73'
Parisi has only been on the pitch a matter of minutes, but he's had his name taken by the referee after catching Cuadrado with a late challenge.19:37
72'
Juventus win a free-kick down their right, and it's taken short to Cuadrado, who floats it to Locatelli on the edge of the box. He returns it to the Colombian, who goes for a chipped cross to the far side, but it goes straight out of play.19:36
70'
And Cacace is taken off, with Parisi on in his place. 19:36
70'
Bandinelli is also making way, with Benassi on to replace him.19:35
70'
Empoli are making a triple change now, and Di Francesco is the first to go off, with La Mantia on for him.19:35
68'
Empoli don't look rattled by Juventus' third goal and they're pushing forward again. It's switched out to Di Francesco on the right, who does well to poke it through a crowd to Pinamonti, but De Ligt cuts it out. 19:33
66'
Morata could've continued his run to try and get a shot away, but instead, he unselfishly laid it off to set up Vlahovic.19:32
66'
VLAHOVIC SCORES AGAIN! Juventus break quickly after an Empoli corner, with Morata being fed in by Cuadrado. He bursts forward before picking out Vlahovic, who gets in behind Cacace before lifting a lovely chip over Vicario and into the back of the net. 3-1 Juve!
Another corner is swung in for Banjami for Empoli, and Luperto peels away at the far post. He has a free header, but it loops high over the crossbar.19:28
62'
Second change for Juventus now, and it's the scorer of the first goal, Kean, that's going off for Morata.19:26
60'
Ismajli is rolling around holding his ankle, claiming he was caught by Kean, and the referee eventually pauses the game. He gets back to his feet quickly without needing treatment though.19:25
58'
It's Empoli's turn to attack now, with Zurkowski driving down the right. He tries to curl it into Bajrami on the edge of the box, but Rabiot crowds him off it before he can have a shot.19:23
56'
Juventus are keeping the pressure on here, with Kean making another good run down the left. He whips a cross in, which hits Locatelli before he can react, and it flies high over the bar.19:21
54'
Vlahovic has become just the second player in Serie A history to score for two different teams against Empoli in a single campaign, after Krzysztof Piatek in 2018-19 (Genoa and Milan).19:18
52'
Cuadrado whips another corner into the box and it has Vicario scrambling across to his near post. It doesn't cause any problems though as it hits the side netting.19:16
50'
Two Empoli players attempt to dispossess Kean before Ismajli slides in himself. It's a heavy challenge that earns him the first booking of the game, and he'll miss their next match because of it.19:15
48'
Empoli have made a bright start to the second half, working it upfield well. They've put crosses in from both sides through Bandinelli and Di Francesco, but Szczesny collected them with ease.19:13
46'
Empoli get us back underway for the second half!19:09
Juve have struggled to find their rhythm in the first half, but Allegri will be happy with their clinical finishing. Empoli played well and may feel hard done by to go in behind at the break. Andreazzoli will be hoping for more of the same as they look to do something they haven't done since 2004: score more than once against Juventus.19:12
Juventus take a 2-1 lead over Empoli into half-time. It's been a game of few clear cut chances, with Zakaria seeing an early shot well-saved by Vicario. Kean gave the visitors the lead with a good header at the far post, but Zurkowski pulled them back from a corner which caused the Juventus defenders some confusion. Vlahovic then restored Juve's lead with the last kick of the first half, keeping his cool to slot it in from close range.18:58
45'+3'
HALF-TIME: EMPOLI 1-2 JUVENTUS.18:55
45'+2'
It was Cuadrado's dummied shot that opened up the space for Vlahovic, as two Empoli defenders slid in to block the effort that never came.18:54
45'+2'
VLAHOVIC SCORES! It's brilliantly worked by Juventus, with Arthur cutting out Bandinelli's throughball to set Juve on the counter. He picks out Cuadrado, who dummies a shot before slipping it through to Vlahovic. He keeps his cool to dribble past Ismajli and slotting home from close range. 2-1 Juve!
Cacace can't get anywhere near Danilo as he weaves down the right and he clips a cross towards Locatelli on the edge of the box. Ismajli stretches and just manages to stop it from getting through to him.18:52
43'
Di Francesco's looping cross is just out of Pinamonti's reach on the stretch, but Zurkowski is coming in behind him. He tries to hit it on the volley but ends up catching Pellegrini instead to give away a free-kick.18:49
41'
Empoli are on the attack again here and working it down their right side. Stojanovic breezes past Rabiot before seeing a whipped cross blocked by Pellegrini.18:48
39'
ZURKOWSKI EQUALISES! The corner catches Juventus out again as Bajrami's cross hits Luperto and drops to the ground. There's a scramble, with none of the Juve defenders able to get a touch on it and Zurkowski eventually pokes it through the crowd and into the bottom corner. 1-1!
Zakaria is helped off the pitch by the medical team, and it is Locatelli that's coming on to replace him.18:43
36'
Zakaria has gone down and this isn't a good sign for Juve, who already have a long injury list. It looks like a muscle problem and he won't be carrying on as Locatelli is warming up on the sidelines.18:43
34'
Empoli are on the front foot again, with Cacace linking up well with Bandinelli down the left. The defender swings the cross into the box, but it's too high for everyone in the middle.18:42
32'
Rabiot breezed past Stojanovic down the left and lifted in a great cross to pick out Kean, who was hovering at the back post. 18:40
32'
KEAN SCORES! It's a lovely cross into the box by Rabiot and he clips it to Kean, who is unmarked at the far post. He rises high and nods his effort into the ground and the bounce catches out Vicario before it hits the back of the net. 1-0 Juve!
Bajrami's corner causes some confusion in the box as Luperto gets the slightest of glances on it at the near post. It bounces around in the middle, but Pinamonti can't get the touch he needs to turn it past Szczesny.18:37
29'
Another Juventus attack is broken up on the halfway line and Asllani drills a throughball through the middle for Pinamonti to chase. It's too heavy for him though, and Szczesny collects. 18:35
27'
Empoli work it down their left this time, with Bandinelli bursting past Danilo. The right-back makes a good recovery though and sprints back to block the cross.18:33
25'
Bonucci just manages to get the ball back to Szczesny under pressure from Pinamonti, but the forward doesn't give it up. Szczesny slices a clearance straight to Zurkowski, but De Ligt manages to deal with the danger.18:31
23'
There are half-hearted shouts for a penalty when Bajrami goes to ground under a clumsy challenge from Rabiot. The Frenchman bundled into the back of him, but there's not enough in it for a spot-kick.18:29
21'
CLOSE! It's well worked between Stojanovic and Zurkowski down the right, and it's the defender that fizzes a low cross into the near post. Bajrami latches onto it, but his close-range shot is deflected wide off Pellegrini.18:27
20'
Empoli are enjoying a good spell of possession in their own half, but they're struggling to get out at the moment due to Juventus' high press. Asllani eventually goes long for Bajrami, but he turns straight into Arthur.18:27
18'
CHANCE! Kean squares it to Vlahovic on the edge of the box and he knocks it past Ismajli with a quick burst of pace. He ends up scuffing the shot through Luperto's legs and wide of the far post.18:24
17'
It's another good move by Empoli as Stojanovic lays it off to Zurkowski on the edge of the box. He turns away from De Ligt to get a yard of space before firing his shot high over the bar.18:23
15'
Asllani spots the space open up through the middle, so he curls a low throughball forward for Pinamonti to chase. There's too much on it though and Szczesny is happy to let it roll harmlessly out of play.18:22
13'
Vlahovic does brilliantly to spin out of two challenges in the centre circle before continuing the attack for Juve. He switches it out to Rabiot, but he quickly loses out to Zurkowski.18:19
11'
Empoli have only scored four goals in their last 13 Serie A meetings with Juventus, never scoring more than once in a game - they last scored at least two goals in a single such match in January 2004 (3-3).18:17
9'
Di Francesco gets the better of Danilo down the right and loops a deep cross into the box. Zurkowski manages to nod it down for Bajrami, but he's crowded off it before he can put in a cross.18:15
7'
GOOD SAVE! Vlahovic drives through the middle and holds onto the ball until the last second when he lays it off to Zakaria on the right of the box. Vicario rushes off his line and does well to smother the quickly taken shot.18:13
6'
Cuadrado loses the ball to Di Francesco, and he spins away from Zakaria before driving forward. Zakaria doesn't give it up though, clipping his heels to bring him down, but nothing comes of the free-kick.18:12
4'
Pellegrini floats a lovely cross onto the edge of the box, but Zakaria, who has his back to goal, can only glance it on. It ends up going out for a corner, which Danilo gets on the end of, but he heads it just over the bar.18:10
2'
Empoli's early possession is broken up by Arthur, who tries to go long to pick out Vlahovic's run down the right. He beats Cacace to it but then knocks it straight out of play with a heavy touch.18:09
1'
Vlahovic gets the game underway for Juventus! 18:06
The teams are out on the pitch now, with kick-off just moments away!18:03
Juventus have won each of their four Serie A away games against Empoli, after having won just four of the previous eight (D2 L2) - Empoli's last home win against them was back in April 1999 when they beat the Bianconeri 1-0.18:00
There are five changes from Massimiliano Allegri as well after the draw with Villarreal in the Champions League. Bonucci, Pellegrini, Zakaria, Arthur and Kean are all brought in. De Sciglio, Locatelli and Morata are named on a depleted bench. Two more injuries have been added to Juve's list, with Weston McKennie suffering a double break in his foot and Alex Sandro picking up a calf problem in that game.17:57
Aurelio Andreazzoli makes five changes to his side after their defeat to Sampdoria last time out, with Ismajli, Luperto, Cacace, Bandinelli and Di Francesco all coming into the starting line-up. Romagnoli, Parisi, Benassi and Cutrone drop to the bench. Verre is also amongst the substitutes after recovering from injury.17:54
JUVENTUS SUBS: Carlo Pinsoglio, Mattia Perin, Mattia De Sciglio, Alvaro Morata, Manuel Locatelli, Marley Ake, Matias Soule, Fabio Miretti. 17:51
JUVENTUS STARTING XI (4-2-3-1): Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo, Leonardo Bonucci, Matthijs de Ligt, Luca Pellegrini; Denis Zakaria, Arthur; Juan Cuadrado, Adrien Rabiot, Moise Kean; Dusan Vlahovic.17:48
EMPOLI SUBS: Liam Henderson, Marco Benassi, Valerio Verre, Patrick Cutrone, Andrea La Mantia, Riccardo Fiamozzi, Jacopo Furlan, Leo Stulac, Lorenzo Tonelli, Simone Romagnoli, Samir Ujkani.17:45
EMPOLI STARTING XI (4-3-2-1): Guglielmo Vicario; Petar Stojanovic, Ardan Ismajli, Sebastiano Luperto, Liberato Cacace; Szymon Zurkowski, Kristjan Asllani, Filippo Bandinelli; Nedim Bajrami, Federico De Francesco; Andrea Pinamonti.17:42
Juventus are looking to try and get a more secure grip on a top-four place with a win today, and come into this game in good form. They're unbeaten in each of their last eight games in all competitions (W4 D4), though they've drawn each of the last three 1-1. In the reverse fixture, Empoli shocked Juventus with a 1-0 win in August, but their form is the complete opposite of their visitors' today. They're winless in their last 10 outings in all competitions (D5 L5), and are looking for their first victory since mid-December.17:38
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Serie A meeting between Empoli and Juventus at the Carlo Castellani!17:35
Dove si gioca la partita:
Stadio: Carlo Castellani Città: Empoli Capienza: 19795 spettatori17:35
Empoli - Juventus is a match of 27 day of the season Serie A 2021/2022. The match will be 26 february at 20:50 in the stadium Carlo Castellani in Empoli. Referee of Empoli - Juventus will be Fabio Maresca with the help of Domenico Palermo e Giuseppe Perrotti. At VAR there will be Paolo Valeri.
Currently Empoli is 13° in the standings with 31 points (thanks of 8 wins, 7 draws and 12 defeats); while Juventus is 4° in the standings with 50 points (thanks of 14 wins, 8 pareggi and 5 sconfitte). Empoli scored 40 goals and conceded 53; Juventus scored 41 goals and conceded 25. The first leg Juventus - Empoli was played on 28 august 2021 and it ended on a 0-1 score.
At home Empoli scored 11 points (3 wins, 2 draws and 9 losses). Away Juventus scored 23 points (6 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses). Empoli in the last three matches of the season challenged Cagliari, Sampdoria and Juventus obtaining 1 point thanks to 0 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. Juventus in the last three matches of the season challenged Verona, Atalanta and Torino obtaining 5 points thanks to 1 win, 2 draws and 0 losses. In the last match Empoli was against Juventus losing 2-3 while Juventus was against Torino evening 1-1. The best scorer of the team coached by Aurelio Andreazzoli is Andrea Pinamonti with 9 goals while the best scorer of the team coached by Massimiliano Allegri is Dusan Vlahovic with 20 goals.
Empoli and Juventus competed 25 times in the league. In the previous matches Empoli won 3 times, Juventus won 19 times while the number of draw was 3.
These are the statistics of the two teams in the matches played in the season:
Where to see Empoli-Juventus You can see the live match Empoli-Juventus here on Virgilio Sport starting 20:50 CET of 26 february. Discover who will broadcast live Empoli - Juventus between Sky and Dazn.
