November 12, (THEWILL) – Empoli pulled off a dramatic shock victory away to Serie A defending champions Napoli on Sunday, with Viktor Kovalenko netting an injury-time stunner to seal a 1-0 win for the struggling Tuscan side.
Rudi Garcia’s tactical gamble backfired for the Partenopei, as he dropped star attackers Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Piotr Zielinski and Natan in favour of a 4-2-3-1 system. Further disruption hit Napoli’s preparations when keeper Alex Meret picked up a calf injury in the warm-up.
Empoli had their own injury issues, missing key men Tommaso Baldanzi, Sebastian Walukiewicz and Giuseppe Pezzella. Still, the visitors matched Napoli in a tense first half, with keepers Etrit Berisha and Pierluigi Gollini making good saves at both ends.
Garcia reverted to Napoli’s usual 4-3-3 shape after the break, bringing on Kvaratskhelia and Zielinski. The Georgian looked lively but could not find the breakthrough.
As the game entered stoppage time, Napoli thought they had won it when Kvaratskhelia forced a point-blank stop from Berisha. However, in the 95th minute, Kovalenko exploded a right-foot shot into the top corner from a tight angle to spark jubilant Empoli celebrations.
The shock result leaves Napoli temporarily in fourth place on 21 points with Atalanta in fifth, yet to play this weekend. Empoli climbed out of the relegation zone after picking up just their second league win of the season.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
