UC Sampdoria were held to a 1-1 draw by Empoli in Serie A on Thursday, but maintained their unbeaten home record.
Sampdoria knew that a victory would lift them to seventh in the table, but Empoli had won two of their past three matches and were looking to move further away from the relegation zone.
Empoli broke the deadlock on the hour mark when Manuel Pucciarelli received the ball in the penalty area from Riccardo Saponara, turned inside and curled an impressive finish into the top-left corner.
Photo: AP
However, Empoli’s lead lasted just seven minutes before Eder — who had two efforts ruled out for offside inside the opening 12 minutes — got the equalizer.
Fernando stole the ball off substitute Assane Diousse and raced forward, before slipping it through to Eder, who drove the ball into the bottom-left corner.
Diousse’s misery was complete when he was sent off with two minutes remaining following a second booking.
Empoli moved level with US Citta di Palermo, Genoa and Udinese, with all four clubs five points off the relegation zone.
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