It was a nightmare evening for Juventus, who were docked 10 Serie A points and then crumbled 4-1 at the Stadio Castellani with Empoli, leaving them in seventh place.
The Bianconeri had a tense few days, crashing out of the Europa League semi-final with Sevilla in extra time on Thursday and just minutes before kick-off seeing the FIGC Federal Court of Appeal announce a 10-point Serie A penalty in the capital gains case.
Nicolò Fagioli had surgery for a fractured clavicle, joining Paul Pogba, Mattia De Sciglio and Leonardo Bonucci on the injury list for the rest of the season. With Danilo and Juan Cuadrado suspended. Empoli had already secured Serie A safety, but missed Razvan Marin, Sebastian Walukiewicz and Koni De Winter. Tommaso Baldanzi and Juve’s Matias Soule were at the Under-20 World Cup.
Juve had a huge early chance when Arkadiusz Milik’s header thumped the crossbar on a corner, then Federico Gatti eventually bundled over the line, but only after Gleison Bremer had fouled Guglielmo Vicario.
Instead, Empoli opened the scoring when Milik mistimed his attempt to clear and brought down Nicolò Cambiaghi for a penalty, which Francesco Caputo converted into the bottom corner.
Moments later, Empoli had a second in chaotic fashion. Jacopo Fazzini’s corner found an acrobatic Caputo attempt at the back post, Wojciech Szczesny made a stunning reaction save on Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro, but Sebastiano Luperto lashed in from a tight angle.
Milik knocked down a cross for Bremer to blast off target from six yards, while Adrien Rabiot’s scorcher was not far from the top corner.
Vicario came flying outside the penalty area for a sliding tackle on Vlahovic and the referee ruled he got the ball cleanly, but it was incredibly risky.
Juve made a double change at half-time, but it didn’t improve matters, as Akpa Akpro robbed Alex Sandro in midfield and rolled across for a delicate Caputo dink over Szczesny and 3-0.
Bandinelli blasted over from a promising position, while Fazzini fired straight at Szczesny on the Ebuehi assist and a corner ricocheted off Gatti’s leg just over the crossbar.
Juve did get one back late on, as Federico Chiesa scored his first Serie A goal in over 500 days, cushioning a Rabiot cross with his chest and letting it bounce before smashing in the angled drive that squirmed under Vicario.
There was still time for another Empoli goal, as after a great one-handed Szczesny save on Roberto Piccoli, the following corner was cleared straight to Nicolas Haas by Moise Kean, allowing Piccoli to score at the near bottom corner.
Empoli 4-1 Juventus
Caputo pen 18, 47 (E), Luperto 21 (E), Chiesa 85 (J), Piccoli 93 (E)
Player statistic
| Francesco Caputo |  |
18' | ||
| Sebastiano Luperto |  |
21' |
| Francesco Caputo (Assist: Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro) |
|
48' | ||
| Fabiano Parisi |  |
55' | ||
| 56' | |
Adrien Rabiot | ||
| Filippo Bandinelli | |
66' | ||
| 76' | |
Leandro Paredes | ||
| 85' | |
Federico Chiesa (Assist: Adrien Rabiot) | ||
| Roberto Piccoli (Assist: Nicolas Haas) |
|
90+3' |
Match statistic
