Tyronne Ebuehi’s first Serie A goal allowed Empoli to seal a crucial 1-0 win over Sampdoria at the Stadio Castellani, but Dejan Stankovic was left furious by a late goal disallowed by VAR.
The Tuscans earned three crucial points in a relegation battle against the Blucerchiati, moving 13 points above the drop zone.
The hosts were without the injured Nicolas Haas and Mattia Destro, while Stankovic had to cope without Fabio Quagliarella. Both Sam Lammers and Francesco Caputo started against their former clubs, weeks after completing a swap deal.
The Blucerchiati had a strong start, but Mehdi Leri’s header hit the crossbar. Ronaldo Vieira won possession, intercepting a misjudged pass from Guglielmo Vicario and wasted a golden chance being unable to find Lammers inside the box.
Empoli produced nine shots in the first half. Inter loanee Martin Satriano had the best chance but sent his volley over the bar minutes before the break.
The Tuscans opened the account early in the second half when Ebuehi pounced on a Razvan Marin corner from the left, squeezing past Samp’s defenders and catching Emil Audero in no man’s land.
Paolo Zanetti’s men started defending deep, trying to score with counterattacks and relied on their goalkeeper Vicario to hold onto a lead. Tottenham loanee Harry Winks was introduced at minute 62, making his debut in Serie A.
The Italian keeper denied Filip Djuricic minutes before Caputo sent a curler inches wide of the far post. Tommaso Augello’s goal-line clearance helped the Blucerchiati remain in the game.
Empoli were reduced to ten men in the final ten minutes because Ardian Ismajli got injured seconds after Zanetti had made his fifth substitution.
Vicario produced two more incredible saves on Lammers and Colley, but Sampdoria scored through the Gambian centre-back in the stoppages after a free kick.
However, VAR spotted a handball from Manolo Gabbiadini leading to the goal, so referee Alberto Santoro had a very tense on-field review with coaches and reserves of both teams screaming at him. He eventually disallowed Colley’s goal because of Gabbiadini’s foul, ignoring a potential penalty kick for Samp, which caused the handball from the ex-Southamtpon striker.
Stankovic and Sampdoria players didn’t hide their frustration after the final whistle, but remain 19th in the Serie A table with only nine points in 18 matches.