2025 begins with a draw for Venezia and Empoli, who in the opening match of the new year do not go beyond the 1-1 at Penzo, with a point for each side which is good for both in the overall balance of the lower areas of the classification. The goals all came in the first half, scored by Pohjanpalo – with the collaboration of Vazquez – and Esposito.
In fact, five minutes were enough for Venezia to break the deadlock, with the Finnish attacker pressing the rival goalkeeper well and leading him to make the wrong clearance which hit Pohjanpalo’s body and ended up in the net. Empoli suffered a cold blow, but they reacted with a lot of presence in the Venetian backcourt and with a couple of interesting initiatives led by Esposito.
In fact, it was in the 32nd minute that the white and blue number 99 found the equalizer: a ball worked well by Colombo, who, attacked by three opponents, managed to manage possession in the penalty area and serve Esposito who only had to repeat it into the net. Fun match and Empoli who came close to overtaking a little later, with Anjorin’s long-range shot which, thanks to a deflection, involved Stankovic quite a bit in his diving save.
In the second half Venezia began to grow again, after the final part of the first half was more troubled following their momentary initial advantage. However, D’Aversa’s team will have another dangerous chance, with Anjorin’s vertical serve for Colombo, who in front of Stankovic does not angle enough, the shot being defused by the Serbian goalkeeper.
The teams are tired overall and the pace drops as the minutes pass, bringing the match closer to its conclusion and to a draw in line with what was seen over the course of the ninety minutes. The Tuscan team, having already been without a goal for three matches, is back to scoring points, while Venezia remains second to last – although now on a par with Cagliari – with their fourth useful result in the last five matches.