Torino-Empoli 1-0, Zapata decides in the festival of disallowed goals

Turin, 16 December 2023 - More goals disallowed than good goals: the comparison reads respectively 3 (the one of Sanabria on the one hand and those of Ebuehi e Cacace on the other) a 1, with the goring of footings to definitively fix the outcome of a Turin-Empoli not exactly spectacular. In the end the granatas prevail in the name of maximum performance with minimum effort, for a success that raises them to altitude 23 points in the standings: not yet a good score to dream big, but certainly a useful victory to try to get out of the anonymous mid-table group. Then there are the Tuscans, who are still stuck in the relegation zone despite the recent two-sided draws. The main problem of the Andreazzoli gang, whose beneficial effect seems to have almost completely vanished, is always the same: the interpreters of the advanced department change, but the performance in front of goal remains poor. If then, in the few times in which the opponent's goal swells, offside signals arrive to nullify everything, then the salvation mission seems more complicated than expected: all while waiting for the results of the other teams in the lower rankings.

The official lineups

  Juric he relies on 3-5-2: between the posts there is Milinkovic-Savic, while the backlog department is made up of Tameze, Good morning e Rodriguez. The fifths are Bellanova e Voyvoda, with ilic, Linetty e vlasic in the middle of the field and the couple Sanabria-Zapata in attack. Andreazzolli responds with a 4-3-1-2 open from Berisha, protected by Ebuehi, Ismaili, Lupert e Cacace. The median is made up of Marine, Fat e Maybe, while supporting the two tips Change e BIRD there Fazzini. First half Ready, go and Berisha, already in the public eye for the serious mistake committed against the Lecce, messes up a back pass of Lupert and gives a corner to the Turin: from the developments of shooting from the flag Good morning tries a shot from distance that flies over the crossbar. The Granata try to immediately gain dominance of the pitch: in the 7th minute footings mail for Sanabria, who controls and kicks right on target Berisha. In the 10th minute the home number 9 made amends with a great overhead kick that capitalized on the assist vlasic: all beautiful but also irregular due to an offside position. The celebration was immediately strangled Olympic Stadium Grande Torino, the hosts return to invade the visitors' half of the field but, in truth, without creating any big opportunities in the area of Berisha: the latter, however, is destined to fall soon and to be precise in the 25th minute, when footings he heads home the perfect cross Bellanova, in turn served by Sanabria. At 27' ilic immediately try to close the accounts at the suggestion of Voyvoda: Berisha he is saved somehow. Once the new danger has escaped, theEmpoli he shakes himself and, paradoxically, finds the equalizer at the first opportunity also thanks to the volley kicked by Marine which, thanks to a deflection, yields a corner: from the development of the shot from the flag, after a counterattack in the area, Lupert serves Ebuehi, which anticipates Milinkovic-Savic and scores. The guest's joy does not last long, because the VAR intervenes and recognizes an offside position at the moment of the winning assist. Despite the disappointment, the guests continue to attack and, in general, to play with a much different attitude than that shown in the first part of the opening half: on the shields Change, which tries to sting Milinkovic-Savic from distance. The Turin try to re-establish hierarchies on the field with Bellanova, who in the 39th minute takes a corner but doesn't find the target. The mission fails and, indeed, in the 44th minute theEmpoli finds the equalizer with the gore of Cacace at the suggestion of Marine: once again the offside signal saves the home team. Having escaped the new danger, the Granata close the fraction in attack: Sanabria tap below to Linetty, who volleyed from distance and missed the goal before the double whistle marinelli.

Second half

  The teams return to the field with the same personnel: there is one among them Change, who in the 52nd minute came close to hitting the goal with a shot from distance. After this flash, the match enters a confused phase and without major upheavals on both fronts: the Turin he is unable to build the good action to hunt for the knockout blow andEmpoli, perhaps still affected by the goals disallowed for offside, defended themselves without restarting with the vehemence of the first half. Not by chance, Andreazzolli he puts his hand to the bench: an evanescent player is out BIRD It's inside Chancellors and outside too Marine, replaced by Destro. It was the new arrivals who combined and in the 62nd minute they came close to scoring: Destro makes the bank for Chancellors, who tries to jump Milinkovic-Savic without however succeeding in the undertaking. Also Juric changes: they go up Lazaro e Djidji and they go down Voyvoda e Tameze. Not even the substitutions manage to (re)ignite the challenge: this obviously plays into the game of Turin, While 'Empoli relies a lot on placed players, even without luck (like when in the 73rd minute Fazzini sends a punishment to the stars). Andreazzolli changes again: inside Ranocchia for Fat e Baldanzi for Maybe. The challenge enters a nervous phase, with marinelli to extract yellows in sequence for Good morning before and Cacace then to nip nervousness in the bud. Andreazzolli further raises the center of gravity by throwing yourself into the fray gyasi for Change. Juric responds by entering soppy for Bellanova, while the nervousness it brings does not subside marinelli to wave many warnings: they also end up on the list of bad guys vlasic e Lupert, two furies. There are 6 minutes of added time: theEmpoli he opens them by throwing a ball into the area with Ranocchia for Destro, providentially anticipated by Good morning. At 93' Cacace tries the right from distance: nothing for him to do, while footings is detected by Pilgrims. It is the deserved standing ovation for the match winner of the challenge which rewards, with minimal effort, the Turin to the detriment ofEmpoli which remains heavily entangled in the fight for survival despite the breaths of fresh air provided by recent draws.