Fiorentina 1 : 1 Empoli - Tonelli claims Empoli point

Posted Monday, December 22, 2014 by PA

Empoli held Fiorentina to a 1-1 draw in Florence in Sunday's battle of Tuscan teams to extend their unbeaten run to five games.

Peruvian midfielder Juan Manuel Vargas scored his first goal of the season to put Fiorentina ahead in the 44th minute.

The Viola were unlucky not to double their lead two minutes after the restart when Mario Gomez's header struck the post with Empoli goalkeeper Luigi Sepe already beaten.

Lorenzo Tonelli headed in Empoli's equaliser in the 57th minute and the visitors then soaked up the pressure and frustrated the hosts to earn a valuable point at the Artemio Franchi stadium.

The outcome has left Fiorentina in eighth place while Empoli have climbed to 13th position, five points clear of the drop zone.

The hosts, looking for their fourth win in their last five league games, dominated the early exchanges.

Fiorentina's Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, returning from suspension, had the first sight of goal in the 17th minute but his right-footed shot from the edge of the area was saved by Sepe.

The visitors squandered a good chance in the 25th minute when Francesco Tavano lofted the ball over the bar from 12 yards.

At the other end, Sepe made an instinctive save to stop Gomez's powerful header from Joaquin's cross.

Fiorentina's effort paid off before the interval when Vargas drilled a low shot from 20 yards towards the far post and out of Sepe's reach.

The home side picked up where they left off after the break and could not believe their bad luck when Gomez's header from Vargas' cross rebounded off the post.

Empoli then pulled level before the hour when Tonelli got his head behind Mirko Valdifiori's cross and his powerful effort beat Fiorentina goalkeeper Norberto Neto.

The goal inspired the the visitors and Neto was twice called on to make saves to deny Massimo Maccarone and Daniele Croce's close-range attempts.

Fiorentina struggled in attack and failed to test Sepe the rest of the way.