Sunday, January 23, 2022 at 10:38 PM• Last update: 22:43

AC Milan and Juventus were unable to convince in a top game on Sunday evening. The Milanese claimed the victory the most, but were unable to convert the few chances into a goal: 0-0. Napoli won convincingly against Salernitana earlier in the day and takes over the second place in the Serie A from Milan. Juve could have taken fourth place from Atalanta, but remain fifth. AS Roma kept only contact with the top in sixth place thanks to a 2-4 victory against Empoli.

AC Milan – Juventus 0-0
Matthijs de Ligt had to drop out of Juventus because of the stomach flu. Zlatan Ibrahimovic did appear at the kick-off at Milan, but the veteran had to be replaced within half an hour due to an injury. Just before that, Ibrahimovic had offered Rafael Leão a shooting opportunity after a nice combination. The left striker was one of the few bright spots in the disappointing game, but saw Wojciech Szczesny save on his only real shot in the first half. Juventus hardly did anything in return: Paulo Dybala dribbled in from the right in a nice action and then shot far over.

After the break, the game did not change and Milan remained the dominant party, without leading to huge opportunities. Theo Hernández broke through the left wing, but MIlan’s left back shot straight at Szczesny. Olivier Giroud, Ibrahimovic’s replacement, did not head far enough into the corner to surprise Szczesny. In the final phase Juventus also had an opportunity: Weston McKennie headed wide under pressure.

Napoli – Salernitana 4-1
Fabian Ruiz and Hirving Lozano handed out the first pinpricks on behalf of the home team, after which the ban was finally broken by Juan Jesus, who was able to work in after Eljif Elmas headed back: 1-0. However, the visitors tied the score after more than half an hour of play, after Federico Bonazzoli was left uncovered. It was a breeze for the striker to finish from close range: 1-1. Where Salernitana thought he would go into halftime with a draw, Dries Mertens Napoli took the lead again from eleven meters deep in injury time.

AS Roma is loose ?? Within five minutes he is three times in the net ????#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #EmpoliRoma pic.twitter.com/PCX3s9Br2o

— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) January 23, 2022

Referee Luca Pairetto had no choice but to put the ball on the spot when Elmas was pulled on his shirt in the penalty area. Mertens then sent goalkeeper Vid Belec into the wrong corner from eleven meters: 2-1. The match was closed early in the second half by the team of coach Luciano Spalletti. First Mertens offered Amir Rrahmani an unmissable opportunity and five minutes later Lorenzo Insigne shot the final score on the scoreboard. After a handball in the box, Frederic Veseli was awarded his second yellow card. Just like Mertens, Insigne did not fail from the penalty spot face to face with Belec: 4-1.

Empoli – AS Roma 2-4
On a visit to Empoli, the team of coach José Mourinho, where Rick Karsdorp started in the base, had 45 minutes enough to decide the match. Halfway through the first half, the score was opened by Tammy Abraham, who was in line with Sergio Oliveira’s shot and then scored himself: 0-1. The margin was doubled not much later by Gianluca Mancini. The defender did not hesitate after the ball fell at his feet after a scrimmage: 0-2. Barely recovered from the second goal, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was able to fish the toy out of his net a minute later, when brand new reinforcements Sérgio Oliveira was again accurate, just like during his debut against Lecce (3-1 win) in the Coppa Italia.

Within a time frame of just thirteen minutes, Roma’s 4-0 was already a fact. The visitors came out very quickly in the counter via Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Armenian midfielder eventually gave Nicolò Zaniolo an unmissable opportunity. Roma let the reins loose after the break and Empoli managed to reduce the tension in the match somewhat. First Andrea Pinamonti hit the mark, after which Nedim Bajrami with a changed shot made the final score at 2-4.