“Edoardo Saporiti converts a penalty to give Empoli a surprise early lead”
“Joel Pohjanpalo equalizes for Palermo just seven minutes after going behind”
Pivotal“Antonio Palumbo fires Palermo in front for the first time”
Pivotal“Dennis Johnsen doubles Palermo's advantage on the counter”
Pivotal“Bogdan Popov scores from the spot moments after Shpendi's own penalty was saved, cutting the gap to 2-3”
Empoli
Palermo
Outstanding performance
Palermo•MidfielderEmpoli actually started the brighter side after the break, converting an early penalty through Edoardo Saporiti to take a shock lead, but Palermo's superiority was always lurking beneath the surface given they finished with 76% match dominance to Empoli's 37%. Joel Pohjanpalo leveled almost immediately, and from there Palermo simply overwhelmed their hosts, racking up 35 shots to Empoli's 6 and ruthlessly punishing a defense that couldn't cope with Antonio Palumbo and Dennis Johnsen's interplay. Despite a saved penalty and a stunning Bogdan Popov response that briefly made it 2-3, Palermo's Tommaso Cassandro sealed it late, capping a dominant away display built on 12 shots on target and relentless pressure. For Empoli this is a damaging home defeat against a side clearly out-classing them statistically, while Palermo's emphatic road win will boost their push up the Serie B table.
How entertaining was this match?
Offside.
Matteo Egan is substituted off for Joseph Ceesay.
Tommaso CassandroTommaso Cassandro takes a shot with his right foot and scores.
assist: Alessandro Gabrielloni
Goal! Tommaso Cassandro scores to make it 2-4, assisted by Alessandro Gabrielloni.
Corner awarded.
Patryk Peda replaces Dennis Johnsen.
Alessandro Gabrielloni takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Alessandro Gabrielloni replaces Joel Pohjanpalo.
Hernani Azevedo Junior is substituted for Jacopo Segre.
Nahuel Estevez comes on for Filippo Ranocchia.
Luca Mazzitelli comes on for Antonio Palumbo.
Goal! Bogdan Popov scores, making it 2-3.
Bogdan PopovShot by Bogdan Popov with his right foot results in a goal.
Stiven ShpendiVAR decision reviewed for Steven Shpendi.
Penalty saved! Steven Shpendi's attempt is stopped.
Filippo RanocchiaYellow CardFilippo Ranocchia receives a yellow card.
Joel Pohjanpalo takes a right-footed shot, but it is saved.
Offside.
Substitution: Steven Shpendi comes on for Niccolo Corrado.
Duccio Degli Innocenti comes on for Edoardo Biondini.
Offside.
Dennis JohnsenDennis Johnsen scores with a right-footed shot.
assist: Antonio Palumbo
Goal! Dennis Johnsen scores to make it 1-3, assisted by Antonio Palumbo.
Edoardo Biondini takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Antonio PalumboAntonio Palumbo scores with a left-footed shot.
assist: Dennis Johnsen
Goal! Antonio Palumbo scores to make it 1-2, assisted by Dennis Johnsen.
Jacopo SeghettiYellow CardYellow card shown to Jacopo Seghetti.
Joel PohjanpaloJoel Pohjanpalo scores with a left-footed shot.
Dennis Johnsen takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Dominic Vavassori attempts a header but misses the shot.
assist: Mattia Bani
Goal! Joel Pohjanpalo scores to make it 1-1, assisted by Mattia Bani.
Dominic Vavassori takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Goal in the penalty shootout! Edoardo Saporiti scores, making it 1-0.
Edoardo SaporitiEdoardo Saporiti scores with a right-footed shot.
Goal! The score is now 1-0.
Corner awarded.
VAR decision confirms a penalty awarded to Edoardo Saporiti.
Edoardo Saporiti takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Dominic Vavassori takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Karim Zedadka comes on for Simone Romagnoli.
Lapo Deli comes on for Filippo Bandinelli.
Jacopo Segre takes a left-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Dominic Vavassori takes a left-footed shot that hits the post.
Dominic Vavassori takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
The first half ends with a score of 0-0.
Filippo Ranocchia takes a right-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Dennis Johnsen takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Offside.
Corner awarded.
Mattia Bani takes a shot with his head, but it's saved.
Antonio Palumbo's left-footed shot is saved.
Dominic Vavassori's header is blocked.
Dennis Johnsen takes a right-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Joel Pohjanpalo takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Joel Pohjanpalo takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Tommaso Augello takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Dennis Johnsen takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Corner awarded.
Joel Pohjanpalo takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Dennis Johnsen takes a right-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Antonio Palumbo's left-footed shot is saved.
Dominic Vavassori takes a right-footed shot, but it is saved.
Dominic Vavassori takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Corner awarded.
Antonio Palumbo's left-footed shot is saved.
Jacopo Segre takes a right-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Edoardo Biondini takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Bogdan Popov takes a shot with his head, but it hits the post.
Dennis Johnsen takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Tommaso Augello takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Dennis Johnsen takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Offside.
Kick-off! The referee is Livio Marinelli.
