Juventus slump to 4-1 defeat at Empoli after points deduction | Football News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Juventus suffered a 4-1 defeat against Empoli in a Serie A match on Monday. This loss came in the wake of a recent ruling that penalised Juventus with a 10-point deduction due to their transfer activities, significantly diminishing their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
Empoli took control of the game with two goals from Francesco Caputo and a goal from Sebastiano Luperto, establishing a commanding 3-0 lead shortly after halftime. Although Federico Chiesa managed to pull one back for Juventus in the final five minutes, Empoli’s Roberto Piccoli sealed their victory with a goal in stoppage time.
The last-minute revelation of the points deduction prior to kickoff led to Juventus plummeting from second place to seventh in the league standings.
They are on 59 points, one behind AS Roma who occupy the final European qualifying place in sixth and five adrift of fourth-placed AC Milan with two games left.
“Summing up a season in an evening like this is an understatement,” said Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri. “It was a strange situation, 10 minutes before the match the sentence came out.
“Juventus are used to winning, we have to close ranks. There are six points up for grabs and Milan arrive on Sunday.”
Arkadiusz Milik hit the crossbar following a corner in Juve’s intense start to the game and Federico Gatti had a goal ruled out in a follow-up due to a foul in the build-up.
But things went downhill from there for Juventus as Empoli were awarded a penalty for Milik’s foul on Nicolo Cambiaghi and striker Caputo converted from the spot to put the hosts in front in the 18th minute.
It was 2-0 three minutes later when defender Luperto doubled Empoli’s lead following a corner as he struck into the roof of the net on a rebound.
While first-half chances from Dusan Vlahovic and Gleison Bremer did not cut the deficit for Juve, Empoli continued to show greater determination after the break and added another goal two minutes into the second period.
Midfielder Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro went on a solo run and squared the ball to Caputo who made it 3-0 with a chipped finish.
Juventus put an end to their failings in front of goal when halftime substitute Chiesa pulled a goal back with a low strike five minutes from time in his 200th appearance in Serie A.
But it was too little too late for powerless Juventus who conceded again in stoppage time when forward Piccoli moved easily past three Juve defenders to seal the win.

Juventus, who were knocked out in the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday by Sevilla following a 3-2 aggregate loss, previously won all five away matches against Empoli under Allegri.
(With inputs from Reuters)