On 9 February, one of the matches of the 24th round of the Italian Football Championship took place. Salernitana (Italy) and Empoli (Italy) met.
Italian Championship, 24th round
Salernitana (Italy) - Empoli (Italy) - 1:3 (0:1)
Goals: Weissman (69) - A. Zanoli (23), M'Baye Niang (88), Matteo Cancellieri (90+4).
Warnings: Youssef Maleh (21), A. Zanoli (42), Bašić (77), A. Cerri (90+4), Bradarić (90+4).
In a much-anticipated Serie A match, Salernitana faced Empoli at the Stadio Arechi. Both teams were looking for an important win and the match promised to be an exciting and tense affair. The first half started with Empoli showing their attacking prowess with a yellow card in the 22nd minute. Youssef Maleh was cautioned by the referee for a rash challenge. A minute later, however, Empoli suffered a disappointing setback as Alessandro Zanoli struck the post to put Salernitana ahead. "Salernitana took advantage and made a substitution in the 41st minute, bringing on Niccolo Pierozzi in place of Samuel Weissman. However, shortly before the break, Salernitana's Zanoli was also sent off after receiving a yellow card. At the start of the second half, Salernitana made another substitution, with Jean Sambia replacing Zanoli on 46 minutes. The hosts continued to push for an equaliser and made two more substitutions in the 59th minute, with Jonathan Boateng and Grigoris Kastanos replacing Lorenzo Pirola and Lazar Chowna respectively. Salernitana's persistence paid off in the 69th minute when Weisman finally found the opposition goal, levelling the score and giving his team hope.
In the 70th minute, Empoli replaced Andrea Cherry with Mamadou Nyanga and Maleh with Jacopo Fazzini. In the 76th minute, Salernitana made their fifth and final substitution, with Giuseppe Maggiore replacing Lamine Coulibaly. However, Salernitana's enthusiasm waned when Tomas Basic received a yellow card just a minute later. In the 78th minute Empoli made two more substitutions: Niccolo Cambiaggi and Sebastian Zhurkovski came on in place of Marco Cancellieri and Volodymyr Kovalenko respectively. On 88 minutes, Empoli were awarded a penalty, which was successfully converted by Mamadou Nyang, giving Empoli back the lead. The final stage of the match was tense, with both teams looking for a goal. In the 90th minute, Empoli's Cherry and Salernitana's Domagoj Bradaric were both cautioned with yellow cards. However, it was Empoli who proved to be the stronger side as Marco Cancellieri scored in the final minutes of the match, securing a 3-1 victory for his team. The match between Salernitana and Empoli was an exciting one, filled with interesting moments and notable substitutions. As a result, Empoli will be happy to win all three points, while Salernitana will be left pondering the missed opportunity. Both teams will now look forward to their upcoming matches, hoping to continue their Serie A campaigns on a positive note.
The following matches await the rivals in the next round: Inter vs Salernitana, Empoli vs Fiorentina.
| Salernitana | Empoli | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Kicks to the goal | 3 |
| 13 | Kicks | 17 |
| 4 | Blocked shots | 6 |
| 6 | Penalty kicks | 12 |
| 7 | Kicks from outside the penalty box | 5 |
| 10 | Offences | 17 |
| 4 | Corner | 8 |
| 2 | Offsides | 1 |
| 61% | Ball possession | 39% |
| 3 | Yellow cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 1 | Keeper saves | 3 |
| 539 | Total assists | 351 |
| 478 | Accurate assists | 286 |
| 89% | Accuracy of passes | 81% |