Serie A | Empoli 1-3 Lecce: Krstovic blows relegation battle open

Jacopo Seghetti prevented it becoming 3-0 by getting down quickly for a great one-handed save to deny Thorir Helgason’s daisy-cutter.

Seghetti was again decisive on Krstovic one-on-one, but Ardian Ismajli sustained a muscular injury during that move and had to come off.

Alberto Grassi acrobatically met the Sebastiano Esposito cross from the left, turning it wide of the near post, while Saba Goglichidze threw himself in the path of Krstovic’s effort and Seghetti intercepted the dangerous Helgason cross for Krstovic.

Empoli scored straight after the restart, Emmanuel Gyasi nodding down the Maleh cross for Liberato Cacace’s header at the back post.

They threatened an equaliser with Esposito’s glancing header wide on a short corner, then Cacace’s tap-in on the Giuseppe Pezzella pull-back was straight at Wladimiro Falcone from seven yards.

Esposito ballooned another Cacace cross over, then forced Falcone into a save at the near post when cutting inside from the right.

Lecce held on under pressure and added a third in stoppages when Patrick Dorgu ran onto the long Ramadani ball over the top, pulled it back and Krstovic hit a left-foot scorcher into the far top corner from the edge of the area.

Empoli 1-3 Lecce

Morente 6 (L), Krstovic 11, 91 (L), Cacace 47 (E)

11-01-2025 14:00 MatchDay 20 Stadio Comunale Carlo Castellani

Empoli

Lecce 1 - 3

Player statistic

1st half

		6'		Tete Morente (Assist: Santiago Pierotti)
		11'		Nikola Krstovic (Assist: Tete Morente)
		37'		Tete Morente

2nd half

Liberato Cacace (Assist: Emmanuel Gyasi)		47'
		58'		Balthazar Pierret
		83'

Nikola Krstovic     90+1'

Nikola Krstovic (Assist: Patrick Dorgu)

Match statistic

50 Possession % 50 15 Total shots 14 5 Shots on target 6 6 Shots off target 5 4 Blocked shots 3 9 Corners 2 2 Offsides 3 11 Fouls 21 Empoli Lecce

Starting lineups

12 Jacopo Seghetti Goalkeeper 34

Ardian Ismajli Defender 21' 3

Giuseppe Pezzella Defender 80' 13 Liberato Cacace Defender 21 Mattia Viti Defender 2 Saba Goglichidze Defender 5

Alberto Grassi Midfielder 80' 93 Youssef Maleh Midfielder 75' 11 Emmanuel Gyasi Attacker 29 Lorenzo Colombo Attacker 99 Sebastiano Esposito Attacker 30

Wladimiro Falcone Goalkeeper 6 Federico Baschirotto Defender 12

Frédéric Guilbert Defender 19 Gaby Jean Defender 13 Patrick Dorgu Defender 75 Balthazar Pierret Midfielder 82' 29

Lassana Coulibaly Midfielder 14 Thórir Jóhann Helgason Midfielder 52' 9

Nikola Krstovic Attacker 50 Santiago Pierotti Attacker 68' 7 Tete Morente Attacker

82'

Substitutes

27

Szymon Zurkowski Midfielder 1

Samuele Perisan Goalkeeper 23

Devis Vásquez Goalkeeper 36 Jacopo Bacci Midfielder 31 Lorenzo Tosto Defender 90 Ismael Konate Attacker 39 Darius Fălcușan Defender 22

Mattia De Sciglio Defender 21' 10 Jacopo Fazzini Midfielder 75' 6

Liam Henderson Midfielder 80' 7

Junior Sambia Defender 80' 3

Ante Rebic Attacker 98 Alexandru Borbei Goalkeeper 23 Rares Burnete Attacker 32 Jasper Samooja Goalkeeper 1

Christian Früchtl Goalkeeper 36

Filip Marchwinski Midfielder 27 Ed McJannet Midfielder 34 Dario Daka Attacker 26 Cristian Pehlivanov Defender 77

Mohamed Kaba Midfielder 52' 21

Kevin Bonifazi Defender 68' 37

Jesper Karlsson Attacker 82' 20

Ylber Ramadani Midfielder

82'