Empoli and Venezia battled to a gripping 2-2 draw at the Stadio Castellani, a result that offers little relief in their respective fights for Serie A survival.
The Tuscans’ struggle for a 2025 league win continues, with their home crowd still waiting to celebrate a victory this calendar year.
Empoli began on the front foot, threatening early with a series of promising openings. One such moment nearly led to a bizarre own goal when Ionut Radu’s save ricocheted off Cande and then struck Doumbia, only to drift narrowly wide.
At the other end, Devis Vasquez was called into action, reacting smartly to Hans Nicolussi Caviglia’s free-kick.
But the visitors came closest in the first half on 34 minutes, when Vasquez made an acrobatic stop to deny Doumbia following a dangerous delivery from Alessio Zerbin.
The breakthrough eventually came at the hour mark. Liam Henderson dispossessed Gianluca Busio in midfield and whipped in a perfect cross for Jacopo Fazzini, who met it with a sensational volley, his maiden strike of the campaign.
Venezia, however, responded with determination. They first capitalized on Vasquez’s failed attempt to punch clear a corner, allowing Yeboah to equalize.
Moments later, Busio made amends for his earlier error by reacting quickest to a blocked Christian Gytkjaer effort and slotting home from close range.
Empoli weren’t done yet. Tino Anjorin, making his return from injury, salvaged a point with a sublime curling effort from the edge of the area, an individual moment of brilliance to crown a pulsating contest.
