Player Ratings: Empoli 1-3 Roma

Published on: 28 February 2016

Roma condemned Empoli to their fifth consecutive match without a win as Stephan El Shaarawy kicked off a convincing 3-1 victory at the Stadio Carlo Castellani on Saturday.

The Pharaoh sent a fantastic curled effort into the top corner after firing from well outside the 18-yard-box inside the opening 10 minutes before an unfortunate own goal by Ervin Zukanovic granted Marco Giampaolo’s side some hope. A Giallorossi response came swift through Miralem Pjanic as the Bosnian buried his blocked free kick attempt, and El Shaarawy then completed his brace in the second half.

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Empoli

Lukasz Skorupski – 6 – Helpless

Apart from a decent stop on El Shaarawy early into the second half, the Polish net-minder was left frustrated as Roma’s goals proved too difficult to prevent. Although his handling of Mohamed Salah’s effort produced an easy rebound for El Shaarawy, his defenders were out of sorts in any attempt to help.

Vincent Laurini – 6 – Weathered

Seemed to gift far too much space for Lucas Digne to move up the wing, but made up for his shortcomings by intervening with tackles on a few occasions.

Marco Rui – 6.5 – Spoiled 

Stuck very close to Salah and stood out as one of Empoli’s finest performers on the night as he whipped in excellent crosses which also led to the equalizing own goal, but his stomp on Antonio Rudiger ruined his reputation as he was sent off with a second yellow card before the final whistle.

Uros Cosic – 7 – Capable

Showed great timing in standing and sliding tackles to intercept possession in the face of a dominant performance by the visitors.

Lorenzo Ariaudo – 6 – Worrisome

Overstepped his marker at times and was guilty of lobbing passes too far for the likes of Massimo Maccarone while also lacking any decisive tackles at all.

Daniele Croce – 6 – Hasty

Conceded a poor foul right outside the penalty area by pushing Diego Perotti from behind to gift Roma a free kick opportunity in the 25th minute, which ultimately led to Pjanic’s advantageous goal.

Piotr Zielinski – 6 – Minimized

Seemed eager to make bursting runs down the right flank but often spilled possession immediately after Roma closed him down. He nearly assisted Maccarone by hanging onto possession inside the box and crossed to the Italian, who opted to scissor kick well over the crossbar.

Leandro Paredes – 6.5 – Missing

Can’t be faulted for trying as his single shot was blocked in a match that saw more of his defensive efforts put to the test in an unforgiving midfield.

Rade Krunic – 6.5 – Contained

Got forward to latch onto Rui’s cross just before halftime in order to force a save from Wojciech Szczesny, but was otherwise left wandering.

Massimo Maccarone – 6 – Blank

The striker was left chasing heavy passes and frustrated with a lack of opportunities as he failed to net a third straight goal in as many matches.

Manuel Pucciarelli – 6 – Feisty 

Showed good intent with his pace and creativity on the rare surges forward, but was bullied out of any decisive impact in the end.

 Subtitutes

Marcel Buchel – 6 – Lacking

 Quickly faded away under Roma’s dominance and squandered his when given opportunities on the ball.

 Marko Livaja – 5.5 – Wasteful

 Failed to capitalize on a shooting attempt inside the penalty area before also sending a shot from outside the box well wide of the mark.

 Levan Mchedlidze – 6 – Cumbersome

Tried a shot attempt from Empoli’s set piece late in the match that was easily picked up by Szczesny as his goal drought continues.

Source: forzaitalianfootball.com

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