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·29 de março de 2025

Serie A | Como 1-1 Empoli: Kouame hero and villain

Christian Kouame missed several sitters, but also snatched a point for Empoli away to Como, cancelling out the Anastasis Douvikas debut Serie A goal.

This was a big match in the fight to avoid relegation, with Nico Paz and Dele Alli suspended, plus the season over for Alberto Dossena after rupturing his ACL. Coach Cesc Fabregas sat out a touchline ban. Empoli’s long list of absentees remained with Youssef Maleh, Szymon Zurkowski, Ardian Ismajli, Tino Anjorin, Nicolas Haas, Saba Sazonov and Pietro Pellegri, but Mattia Viti and Jacopo Fazzini were available again.

Vídeos OneFootball

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Liberato Cacace should’ve put more weight on the ball across the face of goal, but it was too weak and intercepted by Oliver Kempf.

Edoardo Goldaniga had the ball in the net on 20 minutes with a header, but only after he had wandered offside.

Christian Kouame’s glancing header sent the Giuseppe Pezzella cross just wide, but Alberto Grassi went even closer when nodding a cross onto the upright.

Jean Butez did well to pluck a dangerous Kouame curler out of the air, while Devis Vasquez had to push an effort out from under the bar hit hard by substitute Maxi Perrone.

On the resulting corner, Goldaniga’s header flashed all the way across the face of goal to skim the far post.

Empoli thought they had scored on 52 minutes when Kouame sprung the offside trap, dribbled around Butez, who was way off his line, and rolled the ball past the final defender, but it incredibly bounced off the upright of an open goal.

Instead, it was Como who took the lead when Maxence Caqueret’s back-heel flick sent Mergim Vojvoda down the right, he rolled it across and Anastasios Douvikas was ready to tap in his debut Serie A goal at the back post.

COMO, ITALY – MARCH 29: Anastasios Douvikas of Como 1907 celebrates with his team-mates after scoring their team’s first goal during the Serie A match between Como 1907 and Empoli FC at Stadio G. Sinigaglia on March 29, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Gabriel Strefezza’s snapshot from the edge of the box was well held, but Empoli got a deserved equaliser sparked by Jacopo Fazzini’s run in midfield. He laid it off for Pezzella to stand up a cross, finding Kouame to tower above Alex Valle at the back post. It was the ex-Fiorentina striker’s first Serie A goal in almost a full year.

Kouame wasted another golden opportunity to win it at the 89th minute, ballooning over the bar after Goldaniga got the bounce wrong under pressure from Lorenzo Colombo.

The frustration got to Fazzini, who received an inevitable straight red card for his high and wild lunge through the back of Jonathan Ikone.

Como pushed forward, but Lucas Da Cunha’s low strike was beaten off the line by Devis Vasquez and Goldaniga’s header off target from the resulting corner. The points are shared in this relegation tussle.