A second-half goal by midfielder Tommaso Baldanzi on Monday earned Empoli a surprise 1-0 win over 10-man Inter in Serie A, ending Simone Inzaghi side’s seven-match unbeaten streak in all competitions.
Empoli, whose previous victory against the Nerazzurri was in April 2006, moved up to ninth place on 25 points from 19 games. Inter remained third on 37 points, one point behind second-placed AC Milan, who were to travel to SS Lazio yesterday.
“In the first half hour we did great things, we had courage and zero fear,” Empoli coach Paolo Zanetti told DAZN. “Winning at the San Siro is a dream and my players managed to make it come true.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Inter, who hammered rivals AC Milan 3-0 to win the Italian Supercoppa on Wednesday last week, were left with 10 men when captain Milan Skriniar was sent off five minutes before halftime. He was shown a second yellow card after his boot reached Francesco Caputo’s neck.
Empoli forward Nicolo Cambiaghi was close to causing an early surprise at the San Siro when he received a lofted pass on the edge of Inter’s penalty area and struck from close range, but was denied by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
The visitors squandered another chance five minutes later when striker Caputo’s strike went just wide of the left post.
Inter also went close to scoring, but midfielder Federico Dimarco’s first-time strike from a tight angle was blocked by Empoli goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, while Lautaro Martinez sent his close-range shot just above the bar.
Empoli continued to create chances in the second half and found the back of the net in the 66th minute through Baldanzi after a counterattack.
The 19-year-old substitute sent a powerful low shot to beat Onana, who failed to stop the ball despite going the right way with his acrobatic dive.
Inter’s Edin Dzeko could have leveled nine minutes later, but his first-time effort from inside the penalty area went wide of the left post.
Defender Stefan de Vrij hit the bar with a header shortly afterward.
Inzaghi blamed the defeat on being a man down for more than 50 minutes and dismissed suggestions that the victory celebrations following their Supercoppa triumph impacted their preparations for the match.
“The numerical inferiority has done a lot [of damage]. Perhaps [if we had 11 [players on the pitch] things would have changed,” Inzaghi said. “Excessive celebrations after the Supercoppa? In reality they were very restricted because as soon as we got back, we trained right away.”
Earlier on Monday, Bologna drew 1-1 at home with bottom-placed US Cremonese.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS