Empoli coach Aurelio Andreazzoli tried to look on the bright side of their 1-1 draw with Spezia and joked the own goals were just ‘players a little confused which team they were representing!’
The Tuscans are giant-killers in Serie A this season, but struggle more against the smaller clubs and were held 1-1 at the Stadio Alberto Picco.
“I always accept the result and the statistics say we had over 20 shots on goal, but we were held to a draw,” Andreazzoli told DAZN.
“We dominated the initiative throughout, while being afraid of the potential for Spezia counter-attacks. Ultimately, the point gives us more confidence because it’s not that we struggled to get it, we got there by playing our football.
“There were six changes from the side that beat Napoli, we showed consistency in the performance though, and so that is satisfying to give everyone a chance to impress.
“We are playing to stay in Serie A, so keeping a strong distance from the relegation zone is what we are ultimately looking for.”
Considering the number of shots on target, it is a little odd that the game was decided by two own goals, especially considering who put the ball into their own net.
“They weren’t really own goals, because Dimitrios Nikolaou was with us until recently and Riccardo Marchizza is an ex-Spezia player, so they just got a little confused which team they were representing!”