Inter vs. Empoli 0 - 1, first defeat of 2023
Team
— Jan 23rd 2023Nerazzurri beaten at San Siro, as Baldanzi's goal is enough for the Tuscan side. Inzaghi's side went down to ten five minutes from half time after Skriniar's sending off. After the break, De Vrij hit the bar
INTER-EMPOLI 0-1
Scorers: 65' Baldanzi (E)
INTER (3-5-2): 24 Onana; 37 Skriniar, 6 De Vrij, 95 Bastoni; 36 Darmian (14 Asllani 71'), 23 Barella (9 Dzeko 71'), 20 Calhanoglu, 22 Mkhitaryan (90 Lukaku 77'), 32 Dimarco (8 Gosens 71'); 10 Lautaro, 11 Correa (12 Bellanova 46'). Subs: 21 Cordaz, 31 Brazão, 2 Dumfries, 5 Gagliardini, 15 Acerbi, 33 D'Ambrosio, 42 Curatolo, 45 Carboni, 46 Zanotti, 90 Lukaku. Head Coach: Simone Inzaghi.
EMPOLI (4-3-2-1): 13 Vicario; 24 Ebuehi, 6 De Winter, 33 Luperto, 65 Parisi; 11 Akpa Akpro (32 Haas 46'), 8 Henderson (9 Satriano 73'), 25 Bandinelli; 28 Cambiaghi (35 Baldanzi 64'), 10 Bajrami (21 Fazzini 73'); 19 Caputo (4 Walukiewicz 90'). Subs: 1 Perisan, 22 Ujkani, 3 Cacace, 20 Degli Innocenti, 30 Stojanovic, 36 Guarino, 87 Nabian Herculano. Head Coach: Paolo Zanetti.
Bookings: Henderson (E), Akpa Akpro (E), Parisi (E), Barella (I), Dzeko (I) Sent-off: Skriniar (I) after 40' for two yellow cards. Injury-time: 2' - 5'
Referee: Rapuano. Assistants: Berti, Scarpa. Fourth Official: Marcenaro. VAR: Banti. Assistant VAR: Fourneau.
The beauty of football: ups and downs in the space of a short breath. The joy of winning the Supercoppa Italiana in Riyadh will never be taken away, but within days Inter have tasted defeat for the first time in 2023. Having not been beaten at home since Roma, way back at the beginning of October, the Nerazzurri were beaten against a brave and opportunistic Empoli side, who were able to capitalise on their one-man advantage. Five minutes before half time, Club Captain Milan Skriniar was sent off for a second bookable offence. The onslaught in search of the three points after the break allowed Empoli to break, and it was on one of these counter-attacks that sub Baldanzi grabbed the goal that decided the game.
Despite the freezing cold temperatures, the evening had started in hot fashion with a mass of Nerazzurri supporters welcoming the team coach at the stadium with bans, flags and banners, all in support of the team from their derby win in Saudi Arabia. It was this trophy that gave fans the chance to admire before kick-off, with special celebrations also for the Chinese New Year. The home side lined up in a special jersey dedicated to the year of the rabbit with their names written in Chinese and a special sleeve patch.
The game started at a slow pace, with Empoli pressing high, looking livelier, and trying to break whenever possible. It was the away side who had the game’s first chances, forcing Onana into a save, before Skriniar and De Vrij made a timely intervention. Inter did well to get a foothold in the game and started to turn it their way, repeatedly finding Dimarco on the left, who had a couple of volleys with his powerful left foot that made Viacrio work. Lautaro was next up to get a chance, but he couldn’t quite keep his left-footed hook down. On the 40th-minute mark, the game changed, as an already booked Skriniar, after a tactical foul, received a second yellow for a high boot on Caputo. For Rapuano, referee for the night, it was a second bookable offence and Inter were reduced to ten men.
Inzaghi was pleased to get his troops in at half time on level terms, and brought Bellanova on for Correa, changing tactically to a 3-5-1 system with Mkhitaryan in behind supporting lone striker Lautaro. Despite Inter’s desire and determination, chances were few, and an unbalanced system that left the flanks open to be exploited. On 66 minutes, that is what happend as substitute Baldanzi received the ball to strike home past Onana. The 65,000 plus San Siro support were unscathed though as they got behind Inzaghi’s side, who fought back furiously aided by several changes made, with Dzeko and Lukaku forming a trio of forwards alongside Lautaro.
The final push came, as Dzeko came ever so close to finding a way back in, before De Vrij hit the crossbar with a header from a corner. The San Siro was bedlam, with Inter frantically and desperately knocking up long balls. Gosens came close twice but failed to hit the target on both occasions, before Dzeko had one last chance with his right. An unexpected defeat and a night to quickly forget for the Nerazzurri.
MATCH COMMENTARY
FULL TIME: INTER-EMPOLI 0-1. Baldanzi's goal is enough for the Tuscan side.
91' Gosens with a left-footed volley, but it flies over.
90' Five minutes of stoppage time.
84' From a good position in front of goal, Gosens shoots over.
77' De Vrij hits the woodwork! Asllani's corner is met by the head of De Vrij but it smacks against the bar.
77' Lukaku replaces Mkhitaryan in our last throw of the dice.
75' Good move by Inter with Calhanoglu's cross finding Dzeko, who spins but puts it just wide.
72' Triple change from Inzaghi: Gosens, Asllani and Dzeko all on.
68' Barella booked, and now misses away trip to Cremona.
66' Empoli take the lead, 0-1. On the break, Baldanzi finishes powerfully that Onana just can't get a hand to.
58' Empoli on the break have a 3 on 2 situation, ending with Bajrami's fierce shot, but Onana pushes it away. From the following action, Henderson also tries his luck but the Cameroon shotstopper is well behind it.
53' Inter down to ten with Lautaro up top as a lone striker, with the wingers and Mkhitaryan supporting when possible.
52' Outstanding interception in the box by Darmian, as Caputo was waiting for the ball in the 6-yard box.
46' Second half is underway with a change for each side: Correa is replaced by Bellanova for Inter, and Haas is on for Akpa Akpro for Empoli.
MATCH COMMENTARY
47' Half-time: 0-0, and Inter down to ten men.
46' Empoli close again through Caputo's header, but it flies straight into Onana's arms.
45' 2 minutes of stoppage-time.
40' Skriniar is sent off and Inter are down to 10. The central defender receives a second yellow card after a high boot on Caputo.
38' It's Lautaro again in the box, but his shot is blocked by several defenders.
32' Lautaro is unlucky as he hooks his shot over from inside the six-yard box, after good work by Dimarco on the left.
25' Yellow for Skriniar who brings down Ebuehi on the right.
20' Inter this time come close: Darmian's cross finds Dimarco at the far post who connects perfectly on the volley, but the angle is tight and Vicario saves with his feet.
17' Empoli come close to opening the scoring: Caputo is found in the area, who controls and hits one, but De Vrij and Skriniar stretch to get a vital deflection to knock it behind for a corner.
12' The first chance of the game is for Empoli: a long ball over the top reaches Cambiaghi, who controls expertly and hits the target, but Onana is alert to put it behind for a corner.
8' Lautaro wins the ball deep in Empoli's half and wins a free-kick on the left, but it comes to nothing. A quiet opening 10 minutes here.
1' Empoli get the game underway!
19.a GIORNATA
Hellas-Lecce 2-0 Salernitana-Napoli 0-2 Fiorentina-Torino 0-1 Sampdoria-Udinese 0-1 Monza-Sassuolo 1-1 Spezia-Roma 0-2 Juventus-Atalanta 3-3 Bologna-Cremonese 1-1 Inter-Empoli 0-1 Lazio-Milan, martedì ore 20:45
LA CLASSIFICA
Napoli 50* Milan 38 Inter 37* Roma 37* Atalanta 35* Lazio 34 Udinese 28* Torino 26* Empoli 25* Fiorentina 23* Juventus 23 (-15)** Bologna 23* Monza 22* Lecce 20* Salernitana 18* Spezia 18* Sassuolo 17* Verona 12* Sampdoria 9* Cremonese 7*
*una partita in più