What a frantic finish that was!Your reporter almost fell asleep monitoring the clash between Empoli and Milan on Saturday night before the match rushed into one of the craziest stoppage-time ever in the history of Serie A.When the ref decided there should be a couple more minutes to be played, AC Milan were 1-0 up and heading toward one of those trademark dull wins. What happened then it’s difficult to explain because we saw not one, not two, but three more goals during the injury time, causing the game to finish with 3-1 for the holders.Empoli thought they had stolen a point from Milan in the dying seconds of the game only for the Rosonneri to unleash two goals in added time.Full Time: Empoli 1-3 AC Milan#SeriaA #Milan— Ochieng’ Stephen (@soo_ochieng) October 1, 2022 But let’s push a ‘rewind’ button for a moment, shall we…The first half was eye-hurting in a way, to be honest, with less than two chances for the entire 45 minutes. Rafael Leao was the only one close to breaking the deadlock before the break, but his shot lacked accuracy.##EDITORS_CHOICE##It could have gone in a totally different direction if Razvan Marin’s thunderblast didn’t go just inches wide a few moments after he came in for Empoli at the very beginning of the second half.Empoli didn’t stop there but kept pushing for the opener as their full-back Petar Stojanovic made a mess on the right flank before the narrow miss.We were closer to seeing a goal shortly after on the other end, with Giroud hitting the crossbar from the close-range free-kick.It sparkled Milan’s offence as the defending champions moved their lines forward. Tonali’s deflected free-kick almost ended in the back of the net, but Empoli’s custodian somehow managed to get a hold of the ball at the very last moment to keep the clean sheet. At least, for a moment.The next time Rossonerri came close to him, they netted – a quick throw-in from the left launched Rafael Leao deep in front, and he did his job perfectly to find unmarked Rebic on the far post for a vital victory.It seemed the job was done there. How wrong we only were!Firstly, Nedim Bajrami levelled the game from a magnificent free-kick two minutes into the added time for an ecstatic celebration of the hosts, 1-1.The rain kept pouring, just like goals.Almost instantly, Rossoneri fought back through Ballo-Toure, whose tap-in returned the lead into the visitors’ hands.
Knocked down, both physically and emotionally, Empoli tried bouncing back somehow again, but instead of another stalemate, they conceded once more, thanks to Leao’s poaching skills.🇵🇹 Rafael Leão (23) vs. Empoli:☑️ 90 minutes⚽️ 1 goal🅰️ 1 assist🔑 5 key passes🚀 4 shots💪 7 ball recoveries🔀 2 dribbles won🤩 3-1 win away8 goal involvements in 7 Serie A matches this season.11 in 9 games overall. Another level. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/a63XFZNDUq— Football Wonderkids (@fbwonderkids) October 1, 2022 From 1-0 to 3-1 in a couple of minutes! That’s the magic of football.SERIE A – ROUND 8SaturdayNapoli – Torino 3-1 (3-1)/Anguissa 6, 12, Kvaratskhelia 37 – Sanabria 44/Inter – Roma 1-2 (1-1)/Dimarco 30 – Dybala 39, Smalling 75/Empoli – Milan 1-3 (0-0)/Bajrami 90+2 – Rebic 80, Ballo-Toure 90+4, Leao 90+7/Sunday13:30: (1.45) Lazio (4.70) Spezia (8.00)16:00: (2.19) Lecce (3.40) Cremonese (3.70)16:00: (2.14) Sassuolo (3.50) Salernitana (3.80)16:00: (2.35) Sampdoria (3.35) Monza (3.30)19:00: (2.04) Atalanta (3.50) Fiorentina (4.10)21:45: (1.58) Juventus (4.20) Bologna (7.00)Monday21:45: (3.05) Verona (3.40) Udinese (2.50)***odds are subject to change***