Result Lecce 1 – 1 Empoli, Friday 8 November 2024, Serie A Week 12
By Anna Italia
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Italian Soccer Serie A

      Lecce 1 – 1 Empoli     
77′ Santiago Pierotti           33′ Pietro Pellegri

Serie A Standing BEFORE the game:
Lecce, 20th position with 8 points and a negative goal difference of -16
Empoli, 11th position with 14 points and a negative goal difference of -1

What an amazing match! Lecce and Empoli wrapped up Serie A Week 12 with a thrilling draw on Friday, November 8, 2024, at the Via del Mare Stadium in Lecce, Italy. As they look ahead to their upcoming games against Monza and Venezia, Lecce climbs out of the bottom spot in the standings, now just one point behind their competitors. Meanwhile, Empoli levels up with Bologna, both sitting at 15 points.

The match at Via del Mare showcased two contrasting halves. In the opening 30 minutes, neither team managed a shot on target, with Empoli showing more energy and aggression than the home side. Pietro Pellegri broke the deadlock, and the Tuscans controlled the game well until half-time. However, the second half saw a shift in momentum, particularly with the introduction of Sansone. Lecce created numerous chances, hitting the crossbar twice, but ultimately the game ended in a 1-1 draw, leaving Lecce with a sense of missed opportunities after a strong second-half performance.

In a vital showdown for Lecce, they will be up against Venezia at the Penzo Stadium, with the match scheduled for Monday, November 25, at 20:45. Venezia is trailing by just one point and has a game in hand. Additionally, on the same day, Empoli will be playing at home against Udinese at 18:30.

Empoli opened the scoring in the 33rd minute when Pietro Pellegri found the net with a right-footed shot aimed at the bottom left corner. The setup came from Liberato Cacace, who launched a counterattack after a swift run down the left wing. Cacace skillfully delivered the ball to his teammate, who expertly controlled it with his knee before finishing with his right foot into the corner!

👉Lecce 0 – 1 Empoli, 33rd minute, ⚽️ goal by Pietro Pellegri for @EmpoliFC with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner. The assist is by Liberato Cacace. https://t.co/tTxNUTQoml

— Anna Italia (@ItalianSerieA) November 8, 2024

2 goals in 2 games for Pietro Pellegri 💥 pic.twitter.com/AwDF5nHUHw

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 8, 2024

Lecce found the equalizer in the 77th minute when Santiago Pierotti scored with a header into the bottom right corner. Antonino Gallo provided the assist. The play started with Gallo recovering the ball in midfield and then moving it down the left side with Dorgu. Pierotti tracked the entire play, making his way into the box just in time to meet the cross. His header caught Vasquez off guard!

👉Lecce 1 – 1 Empoli, 77th minute, ⚽️ goal by Santiago Pierotti equalized for @OfficialUSLecce with a headed shot to the bottom right corner. The assist is by Antonino Gallo. https://t.co/EGI3OOShXV

— Anna Italia (@ItalianSerieA) November 8, 2024

Santiago Pierotti heads it home to score his first goal for Lecce 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/yCmz0hciQN

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 8, 2024

Stats before the game:

Following their latest victory over Empoli in Serie A (1-0 at Via del Mare, with Nicola Sansone scoring the decisive goal on April 13), Lecce has the chance to secure back-to-back wins against this rival for the first time in the league. At home, Lecce has been strong against Empoli, remaining unbeaten in four out of five encounters (2 wins, 2 draws). Their only loss at home to this opponent occurred on February 8, 2006, when they fell 2-1, with goals from Sergio Almirón and Francesco Tavano for Empoli, and Cristian Ledesma scoring for Lecce.

Lecce have scored just four goals in their last 14 Serie A games, failing to score 11 times in that period and also conceding an average of 1.7 goals per game in that period (24 goals conceded in 14 games) – their goal difference of minus 20 is the worst in the top flight in this period (from May 10 to today).

After their victory against Hellas Verona in their last match played at the Via del Mare in Serie A (1-0), Lecce could obtain two consecutive victories in front of their fans in the tournament for the first time since the period between August and September 2023 (three in that case, with Roberto D’Aversa on the bench).
Empoli have conceded just nine goals after their first 11 games of this championship and have never done better at this point in a top-flight tournament (nine also in 2006/07, in which the Tuscans obtained seventh place in the final standings, still the best placing of the club in a Serie A season).

Empoli have lost just one of their last six Serie A away games (W3 D3), scoring in each of those six; in particular, after drawing in their last away game at Parma, the Tuscan team could draw two away games in a row in the competition for the first time since May 2023 (vs Sampdoria and Hellas Verona in that case).

Player Stats

In 21 Serie A games at the helm of Lecce, Luca Gotti has an average of exactly 1.00 points per game, while Roberto D’Aversa in the 28 games in which he coached Lecce last season had an average of 0.89 per game.
Empoli have kept five clean sheets in 11 matches in this tournament (equalling their record at this point in the top flight, set in 1998/99): only Juventus (eight) and Napoli (seven) have done better than the Tuscan team (five, like Fiorentina and Inter) in this Serie A.

Lameck Banda’s last goal in Serie A came against Empoli, but at the Castellani on 11 December 2023: the Tuscan team is the only one in the top flight against which the Zambian winger has at least one goal and at least one assist.
Mattia Viti is the defender who has won the most tackles in this championship (21); furthermore, among Empoli players, the 2002-born player is the one who has won the most duels (59) and is one of the two with the most interceptions (19 like Ardian Ismaijli) in the current Serie A.

Empoli official starting lineup against Lecce

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Lecce Tickets

Empoli FC Tickets

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📺 Click the video to watch Lecce 1 – 1 Empoli highlights on Friday 8 November 2024

👉Result Lecce 1 – 1 Empoli
Serie A Week 12

⚽️ Goals: 33′ Pietro Pellegri (E), 77′ Santiago Pierotti (L)

🟨 Booked: 45+1′ Liberato Cacace (E), 52′ Pietro Pellegri (E), 84′ Liam Henderson (E)

✅ Shots on goal: Lecce 3, Empoli 6
✅ Corners: Lecce 4, Empoli 3
✅ Saves: Lecce 5,… https://t.co/aMoSoON3jD

— Anna Italia (@ItalianSerieA) November 8, 2024

Photo via twitter.com/Officialuslecce

Via x.com/EmpoliFC

2024 – 2025 Italian Serie A Week 12

Lecce 1 – 1 Empoli
Friday 8 November 2024
Via del Mare Stadium
Lecce, Italy

20:45

⚽️ Goals:  33′ Pietro Pellegri (E), 77′ Santiago Pierotti (L)

🟨 Yellow Cards: 45+1′ Liberato Cacace (E), 52′ Pietro Pellegri (E), 84′ Liam Henderson (E)

✅ Official Lineups – Formations – Tabellino:

Lineup LECCE (4-2-3-1): Falcone; Guilbert (78’ Rebic), Gaspar, Baschirotto, Gallo; Oudin (60’ Coulibaly), Ramadani (60’ Sansone), Rafia; Dorgu, Krstovic, Banda (20’ Pierotti).

Subs Früchtl, Samooja; Borbei, Pelmard, Morente, Jean, McJannet, Kaba.

Coach: Luca Gotti

Lineup EMPOLI (3-5-2): Vasquez; Goglichidze (60’ De Sciglio), Ismajli, Viti; Gyasi, Henderson, Haas, Maleh (80’ Ekong), Cacace (80’ Sambia); Colombo, Pellegri (67’ Solbakken).

Subs: Seghetti, Brancolini; Pezzella, Marianucci, Konatè

Coach: Roberto D’Aversa