It was an astonishingly dramatic afternoon, as when Empoli thought it was done with the M’Baye Niang penalty, Lazar Samardzic converted a spot-kick at the 104^th minute for Udinese.

This was a pure relegation dogfight that all the other teams kept a close eye on too, as they were separated by just one point. The Friulani gave themselves hope by beating Lecce under new coach Fabio Cannavaro, but were without Sandi Lovric, Enzo Ebosse, Florian Thauvin, Marco Silvestri and Gerard Deulofeu. Tyronne Ebuehi was the only remaining Empoli absentee.

See how it unfolded on the Liveblog.

There was an immediate problem for the hosts, as Isaac Success pulled up clutching the back of his right thigh and had to make way for Brenner.

Sebastiano Luperto was decisive to prevent Lorenzo Lucca nodding in a cross, then as the move continued the Walace shot was fingertipped over by Elia Caprile.

Empoli also suffered an injury to Alberto Cerri on his return to the starting XI, but they had the ball in the net on 36 minutes.

A free kick was floated into the box, not cleared effectively and Youssef Maleh smashed it in off the underside of the bar. However, it was disallowed following a VAR review for the M’Baye Niang elbow on Thomas Kristensen’s nose.

Udinese had a massive opportunity to go in front on 57 minutes when Lucca’s cross found substitute Keinan Davis for a header back across the face of goal, but he incredibly steered it wide from six yards.

Sebastian Walukiewicz made a decisive sliding tackle on Davis at the by-line, but the decisive moment arrived at the 89^th minute when Lazar Samardzic was late to clearing a loose ball and caught Nicolò Cambiaghi instead for a penalty. Niang kissed the ball before converting low into the near bottom corner, despite Maduka Okoye getting his fingertips to it.

However, it still wasn’t over, because deep into stoppages on a corner, Jaka Bijol’s tap-in was parried off the line by Elia Caprile and Martin Payero couldn’t turn in the rebound because he was being dragged back by the jersey by Jacopo Fazzini. After a very long wait for VAR issues, the Udinese penalty was awarded and Samardzic kept his cool to convert.

This goal after 14 minutes of stoppages changed everything, pushing Empoli back into the drop zone. Udinese now go into the final showdown with Frosinone.

Udinese 1-1 Empoli

Niang pen 90 (E), Samardzic pen 104 (U)

19-05-2024 14:00

MatchDay 37

Friuli Stadium (Dacia Arena)

Udinese

Empoli

1 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

		4'		Alberto Grassi
Nehuén Pérez		34'

2nd half

		54'		Simone Bastoni
		64'		Ardian Ismajli
		75'		Emmanuel Gyasi
Lazar Samardzic		90+14'
		90'		M’Baye Niang
		90+6'		Razvan Marin
		90+13'		Jacopo Fazzini

Match statistic

46

Possession %

54

9

Total shots

4

3

Shots on target

1

5

Shots off target

2

1

Blocked shots

1

5

Corners

5

1

Offsides

3

14

Fouls

18

Udinese

Empoli

Starting lineups

40

Maduka Okoye

Goalkeeper

12

Hassane Kamara

Defender

87'

29

Jaka Bijol

Defender

19

Kingsley Ehizibue

Defender

55'

18

Nehuén Pérez

Defender

31

Thomas Kristensen

Defender

24

Lazar Samardzic

Midfielder

32

Martín Payero

Midfielder

11

Walace

Midfielder

87'

7

Isaac Success

Attacker

7'

17

Lorenzo Lucca

Attacker

25

Elia Caprile

Goalkeeper

34

Ardian Ismajli

Defender

19

Bartosz Bereszynski

Defender

59'

3

Giuseppe Pezzella

Defender

33

Sebastiano Luperto

Defender

5

Alberto Grassi

Midfielder

80'

30

Simone Bastoni

Midfielder

59'

29

Youssef Maleh

Midfielder

17

Alberto Cerri

Attacker

30'

11

Emmanuel Gyasi

Attacker

20

Matteo Cancellieri

Attacker

81'

Substitutes

37

Roberto Pereyra

Midfielder

93

Daniele Padelli

Goalkeeper

33

Jordan Zemura

Defender

14

James Abankwah

Defender

27

Christian Kabasele

Defender

79

David Pejičić

Midfielder

16

Antonio Tikvic

Defender

30

Lautaro Giannetti

Defender

70

Federico Mosca

Goalkeeper

2

Festy Ebosele

Defender

55'

22

Brenner

Attacker

9

Keinan Davis

Attacker

55'

13

João Ferreira

Defender

87'

6

Oier Zarraga

Midfielder

87'

23

Mattia Destro

Attacker

27

Szymon Zurkowski

Midfielder

13

Liberato Cacace

Defender

9

Francesco Caputo

Attacker

8

Viktor Kovalenko

Midfielder

1

Samuele Perisan

Goalkeeper

12

Jacopo Seghetti

Goalkeeper

7

Stiven Shpendi

Attacker

2

Saba Goglichidze

Defender

10

M’Baye Niang

Attacker

30'

21

Jacopo Fazzini

Midfielder

59'

4

Sebastian Walukiewicz

Defender

59'

18

Razvan Marin

Midfielder

80'

28

Nicolò Cambiaghi

Attacker

81'

Check the official line-ups for this afternoon’s Serie A games with two big relegation dogfights, Udinese–Empoli and Monza-Frosinone.

They both kick off at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from all today’s five Serie A matches on the LIVEBLOG.

These are crucial fixtures for the battle against relegation, especially when Udinese and Empoli go head-to-head.

The situation is extremely tight near the bottom, as there are six teams in a five-point radius and two of them will go down along with Salernitana.

Serie A Week 37

Monza vs. Frosinone

Monza: Sorrentino; Birindelli, Izzo, Pablo Mari, Kyriakopoulos; Bondo, Pessina, Gagliardini; Colpani, Mota Carvalho; Djuric

Frosinone: Cerofolini; Lirola, Romagnoli, Okoli; Zortea, Barrenechea, Brescianini, Valeri; Soule, Harroui; Cheddira

Udinese vs. Empoli

Udinese: Okoye; Perez, Bijol, Kristensen; Ehizibue, Walace, Payero, Kamara; Success, Samardzic; Lucca

Empoli: Caprile; Bereszynski, Ismajli, Luperto; Gyasi, Bastoni, Grassi, Maleh, Pezzella; Cancellieri, Cerri

Midway through the penultimate round of Serie A fixtures for 2023-24, six teams still run the risk of being relegated to the second division, including Sassuolo, Empoli, Frosinone, Cagliari, Udinese and Hellas Verona.

Five of those teams are in action on Sunday, while Verona are due to play already-relegated Salernitana at 17.45 BST on Monday evening.

Excitingly, four of the teams at risk of relegation will play each other directly on Sunday, as Sassuolo host Cagliari at 11.30, with Udinese-Empoli following at 14.00.

It’s important to remember that if teams in 17th and 18th finish level on points, head-to-head and goal difference becomes irrelevant. The teams will instead contest a relegation play-off, as happened with Verona and Spezia in 2022-23.

This year onwards, though, the play-off will take place over two legs, rather than a one-off 90 minute match.

Here’s what the teams all need to avoid the drop to Serie B …

What Sassuolo need to stay in Serie A

As the lowest-ranked team who are still in with a shout of survival, Sassuolo certainly have their work cut out for them. They have 29 points with two games remaining and currently sit three points from safety.

They could technically be relegated by the end of Sunday. That would happen if Sassuolo lose or draw against Cagliari, and if Udinese (15th place) pick up at least one point against Empoli, and if Frosinone (17th) beat Monza.

If Sassuolo beat Cagliari, they can not be relegated on Sunday, and the standing will depend on results on the final day, next weekend.

What Empoli need

From 18th place upwards, it becomes more open as no other team can be mathematically relegated on Sunday. A win for Empoli against Udinese at 14.00 will massively boost their survival hopes, and will lift them out of the bottom three and likely drop Udinese into the relegation zone in their place, depending on the result in Monza-Frosinone.

What Frosinone need

As Frosinone sit level on points with Empoli in Serie A, it’s effectively the exact same situation as before. They will not be relegated, and can not confirm safety on Sunday either way, but a win against Monza will be massively valuable. Their final position will come down to the final day.

What Cagliari need

It’s a much clearer picture for Cagliari. A win today against Sassuolo will mathematically confirm Serie A safety.

A Cagliari will send them up to 36 points, which, in turn will relegate Sassuolo. Sky Sport Italia confirm that a win in either of their final two matches will be enough to keep Cagliari up.

What Udinese need

Similarly to Cagliari, a win against Empoli on Sunday will confirm Serie A safety for Udinese. A draw or loss means that it will come down to the final day, when they play Frosinone.

What Verona need

Verona need two points from their final two games of the season to avoid relegation. In fact, as they play on Monday, they could be confirmed as safe by the end of Sunday without having to play themselves, depending on results elsewhere.

A win against already-relegated Salernitana on Monday will mathematically confirm Serie A safety regardless of other results, but a single point may also be enough to do it depending on Sunday’s matches.

It is looking increasingly likely that relegation to Serie B might be decided by a play-off, as Udinese’s victory at Lecce saw them leap out of the drop zone.

Salernitana are already doomed to the drop, but the other two places are still to be decided with only two rounds left in the Serie A season.

Udinese earned a 2-0 win away to Lecce this evening, propelling them from 18^th place to 15^th, now equal with Cagliari on 33 points and one clear of both Frosinone and Empoli.

Verona are just one point above them, so while Sassuolo look isolated now in penultimate place on 29 points, the other five teams fighting to stay up are all crammed within a two-point radius.

Serie A fixtures include showdowns

The final Serie A 2023-24 fixtures funnily enough do provide some crucial head-to-head clashes, specifically Sassuolo-Cagliari and Udinese-Empoli this weekend, while Frosinone-Udinese is in the last round.

If two teams finish level in 18^th place, they will go to a play-off.

This already happened last season, but while Verona beat Spezia on neutral turf in a one-off match, this year it would be a home and away tie.

If three or four Serie A teams are level on points, then a table will be drawn up of their head-to-head records, with the bottom two going into the play-off.

{end, 21:43, That’s all for the Liveblog}

Atalanta 63*

Roma 60

Lazio 59

*game in hand

{live, 21:43, Congratulations Juve and Bologna}

Juventus and Bologna have officially secured their positions in the 2024-25 edition of the Champions League after Atalanta’s 2-1 victory over Roma https://t.co/HhuvHcjw4Y #Juventus #Bologna #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM #UCL

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 12, 2024

{live, 21:41, Match Report}

#Atalanta 2-1 #ASRoma

Atalanta swept Roma aside with an early Charles De Ketelaere brace to take fifth place with a game in hand, but risked throwing it away with wasteful finishing https://t.co/LgcfBeVDMF #AtalantaRoma #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 12, 2024

{live, 21:38, FT: Atalanta 2-1 Roma}

Atalanta go 5th, Juventus and Bologna are in the Champions League!

{live, 21:37, Koopmeiners, HOW?!?}

Noooo! Incredible. Pellegrini and El Shaarawy down hurt, Atalanta play on, Lookman sets up Koopmeiners, who fires over an open goal! Ridiculous!

{live, 21:36, Angelino crucial}

Atalanta on the counter, Angelino cuts across to stop Toure.

{live, 21:34, Atalanta wide again}

The finishing has been so bad, Miranchuk saw Lookman on the counter, instead drilled wide! Into 4 minutes of stoppages.

{live, 21:33, Koopmeiners wide}

Koopmeiners low angled drive skims the woodwork from the edge of the box!

{live, 21:32, Atalanta sub}

Miranchuk replaces Ederson. Lots of plans changing here. Lukaku was meant to come off, then switched to Kristensen, Toloi was ready, then Miranchuk chosen instead.

{live, 21:31, Save on Ederson}

Ederson breaks down the right, stings Svilar’s gloves at the near post, the move continues and Lookman fires over!

{live, 21:30, Roma subs}

Azmoun and Joao Costa on, Kristensen and Cristante off. Roma all-attack now.

{live, 21:28, Atalanta counter}

Zappacosta on the counter, tries to pull back from the by-line, but Kristensen with the crucial block.

{live, 21:26, Save on Lukaku}

Great work from El Shaarawy, who battles his way through two tackles, finds Abraham, roll across for Lukaku and angled drive well smothered by Carnesecchi.

{live, 21:25, Roma push}

Lukaku turns Hien down the left, rolls across for Bove, who flicks it on, but only as far as Carnesecchi.

{live, 21:25, Atalanta a bit imprecise now}

Some passes a little overhit, moves not quite coming off as smoothly as they did in the first hour.

{live, 21:21, Carnesecchi save!}

Big chance for Roma to equalise! Angelino down the left, roll across for Pellegrini, sweeps from the edge of the box and Carnesecchi flies to palm it away!

{live, 21:19, Atalanta sub}

Scalvini on, Pasalic off, so De Roon returns to midfield.

{live, 21:17, Cheeky Pellegrini}

Pellegrini hooks it back over his head and Carnesecchi plucks out from under the bar.

{live, 21:17, Roma threaten}

Bove slide-rule pass to Abraham, pulls it back across, intercepted by Hien.

{live, 21:16, Atalanta appeals}

Gasperini, who was booked over the Roma penalty, is fuming that Toure goes down under pressure from Mancini and is not awarded a spot-kick either.

{live, 21:13, Roma revitalised}

Suddenly, Roma starting to believe. We’ve seen this before from Atalanta, when they are so dominant and don’t make it count, they can be vulnerable.

{live, 21:09, Atalanta 2-1 Roma: Lorenzo Pellegrini penalty!}

Carnesecchi got the right angle, but couldn’t reach it.

{live, 21:08, Penalty for Roma!}

Hmm. Abraham and Lukaku combine, Abraham gets the shot away and De Roon sliding in crashes into the Englishman at the end of the move. Arguably, the contact came after it was possible to affect the play…

{live, 21:06, Svilar save}

Atalanta are swarming like a hive of angry bees. After a long, LONG, passing move, Djimsiti sets up Pasalic, Svilar has to palm it over the bar.

{live, 21:04, Atalanta again}

Lukaku misplaced pass to Pellegrini intercepted, De Roon repeats the Lookman shot, also inches wide!

{live, 21:03, Lookman so close!}

Oooh! Lookman from the edge of the box, drills INCHES wide with Svilar only able to watch it go by!

{live, 21:02, Koopmeiners booked}

He will be suspended against Lecce. Not sure he minds that too much.

{live, 21:01, Atalanta subs}

Lookman, Zappacosta and Toure on, De Ketelaere, Ruggeri and Scamacca off

{live, 20:58, Roma shot on target}

That might be the first… Bove snapshot from distance, straight at Carnesecchi.

{live, 20:56, Ederson chance}

Another Scamacca back-heel flick sets up Ederson, scuffed finish into the arms of Svilar. Then Scamacca controls and blasts wide from the edge of the box, because Atalanta won it back that quickly…

{live, 20:54, Scamacca over}

Koopmeiners frustrated he overhit the pass for Pasalic, the move continues, Scamacca nods over at the back post, then gets into an argument with Hateboer, who wanted the header instead.

{live, 20:53, Reminder}

If Roma do not win tonight, then Bologna and Juventus will automatically be qualified for the Champions League.

{live, 20:49, Ndicka booked}

Ndicka into the book for scything into De Ketelaere.

{live, 20:49, 2nd half kicks off: Atalanta 2-0 Roma}

{live, 20:47, Roma subs}

Abraham and Bove on, Baldanzi and Paredes off.

{live, 20:44, Dominant Atalanta}

“I almost can’t believe what I’m witnessing here.” @IFTVMarco and @MikeGrella10 on Atalanta outperforming Roma in the first 45 minutes. pic.twitter.com/4cnVWVPSzv

— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 12, 2024

{live, 20:33, Half-Time: Atalanta 2-0 Roma}

And Roma can count themselves lucky it’s only 2-0, because CDK brace, then CDK and Koopmeiners hit the woodwork.

{live, 20:32, Pasalic wide!}

Another moment of CDK magic, gathered with his back to goal, turned a defender as if he wasn’t even there and sent Pasalic through, curler wide of the target!

{live, 20:29, Koopmeiners off the upright!}

Roma hanging on here, Koopmeiners free kick over the wall, thumps the same upright that De Ketelaere hit!

{live, 20:28, Atalanta free kick}

Such great moves, Scamacca flicked header in midfield to Koopmeiners, he returns it, back-heel flick and De Ketelaere brought down by Cristante just outside the D.

{live, 20:27, Whoops}

Referee gets in the way of a Koopmeiners cross.

{live, 20:24, Big save on Hateboer}

Atalanta cross from the left, Hateboer header deflected and great Svilar save on the line!

{live, 20:23, De Ketelaere again}

Did that hit the upright or Svilar? Either way, he nearly scored from the tightest of angles! Replay shows it hit the post!

{live, 20:22, Almost 3-0!}

De Ketelaere AGAIN, Scamacca wins it back in midfield, leaves it to CDK, who drills just wide!

{live, 20:19, Atalanta swarming}

Lovely CDK pass off the outside of the boot to roll across from the right, then series of shots charged down, the best from Koopmeiners.

{live, 20:18, Baldanzi tries}

Baldanzi tries to surge forward, finds himself immediately surrounded by Atalanta bodies.

{live, 20:16, Problem in the stands}

Play halted for a moment, as fireworks thrown land on the pitch and need to be cleared.

{live, 20:12, All Atalanta}

De Ketelaere looks like he’s playing in a different dimension, Roma are nowhere near him. Waltzes into the defence, rolls across for Pasalic, intercepted by Ndicka.

{live, 20:10, Roma on the ropes}

CDK looking for his hat-trick, blocked off, cross cleared with difficulty.

{live, 20:08, First goal}

It's a 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 finish from Charles De Ketelaere as he gives Atalanta the lead over Roma!

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/6p0qvJ98U1

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 12, 2024

{live, 20:08, Roma respond}

Angelino cross, El Shaarawy tries to volley it, but should’ve taken a touch instead.

{live, 20:06, Atalanta 2-0 Roma: Charles De Ketelaere!}

Incredible! Hien robs Lukaku in midfield, Koopmeiners down the left, give and go with Scamacca, pull back for CDK to sweep home relatively undisturbed from 12 yards!

{live, 20:03, Atalanta 1-0 Roma: Charles De Ketelaere!}

That’s a fine solo goal. CDK runs onto the through ball down the left, cuts inside Mancini and bends a right-foot finish into the far bottom corner!

{live, 20:03, Hien intercepts}

Kristensen rolls across from the right for Lukaku, but Hien intercepts.

{live, 20:01, Roma have got a foothold}

Atalanta were pouring forward, but Roma have got a foothold in the game now and trying to slow the tempo.

{live, 19:55, It’s wide open}

As expected, really. Both teams going for it.

{live, 19:51, Roma chance}

Lukaku lays it off for Angelino, shot charged down by Hateboer for a corner.

{live, 19:49, Svilar save!}

Atalanta corner kick, deflection off Lukaku, Svilar makes the save! Then another corner and Djimsiti diving header goes wide!

{live, 19:45, We have kick-off in Atalanta vs. Roma!}

What a game. What a game!

{live, 19:44, A minute’s silence}

For the 5 victims of an industrial accident near Palermo.

{live, 19:42, The teams are out}

Atalanta: Carnesecchi; De Roon, Hien, Djimsiti; Hateboer, Koopmeiners, Ederson, Ruggeri; Pasalic; De Ketelaere, Scamacca

Roma: Svilar; Kristensen, Mancini, Ndicka, Angelino; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Baldanzi, Lukaku, El Shaarawy

{live, 19:41, Daniele De Rossi}

Daniele De Rossi wants Roma to treat Bayer Leverkusen as ‘a memory’ now they go into a decisive clash with all-attack Atalanta for Champions League football https://t.co/7Hxa1mL8hB #ASRoma #Atalanta #SerieA #AtalantaRoma #SerieATIM #Calcio

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 12, 2024

{live, 19:36, Luca Percassi}

Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi points out they will play 56 competitive matches by the end of this season and responds to Roma criticism over their rescheduled game https://t.co/SfeGFfax4y #Atalanta #ASRoma #SerieA #AtalantaRoma #SerieATIM #Calcio #Fiorentina

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 12, 2024

{live, 19:23, Atmosphere in Bergamo}

pic.twitter.com/VyyYdQWULf

— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) May 12, 2024

{live, 19:22, Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta)}

“Playing every three days is oddly better for our fitness levels, as we train on the pitch. Now we are focused on this match and concentrated on our objective.

“Scoring against Marseille was fantastic, as playing in a Europa League semi-final in front of your home fans is the dream of every player. However, tonight is like a Final for us.”

{live, 19:20, Bryan Cristante (Roma)}

“It’s a tough fixture list, but this is football now, we go into another decisive match. It is a head-to-head and our Champions League qualification is realistically decided today.”

{live, 19:14, This means…}

Milan are mathematically 2nd. If Roma don’t win tonight, then Juventus AND Bologna have qualified for the Champions League.

{live, 19:11, Atalanta vs. Roma line-ups}

Atalanta: Carnesecchi; De Roon, Hien, Djimsiti; Hateboer, Koopmeiners, Ederson, Ruggeri; Pasalic; De Ketelaere, Scamacca

Roma: Svilar; Kristensen, Mancini, Ndicka, Angelino; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Baldanzi, Lukaku, El Shaarawy

{live, 19:07, Match report}

#Juventus 1-1 #Salernitana

Juventus hit the woodwork three times, but a late Adrien Rabiot goal allowed them to scrape a point with already-relegated Salernitana, their sixth stalemate in a row https://t.co/nwOngh7MNd #JuveSalernitana #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 12, 2024

{live, 19:03, FT: Juventus 1-1 Salernitana}

Incredible finale!

{live, 19:02, OH SALERNITANA}

HOW?! Salernitana counter in waves, Basic has to score, he sweeps the left-foot curler over the bar!

{live, 19:00, Miretti wide}

Juve want to win it now, Miretti fires wide from the edge of the area!

{live, 18:56, Juventus 1-1 Salernitana: Adrien Rabiot!}

We are into 6 minutes of stoppages! Iling Junior corner flicked on by Locatelli and it is Rabiot who comes sliding in at the back post!

{live, 18:55, Salernitana subs}

Pasalidis and Pellegrino on, Sambia and Zanoli off.

{live, 18:53, Miretti off the bar!}

Juventus are unlucky too, because that was a screamer from Miretti that thumped the underside of the bar, bounced off the ground and back out!

{live, 18:51, Just pointing out}

It is the 87th minute. Juventus 0-1 Salernitana.

{live, 18:49, Atalanta vs. Roma team news}

#Atalanta vs. #ASRoma line-ups:

Atalanta look to Gianluca Scamacca and Charles De Ketelaere, while Roma use Tommaso Baldanzi with Romelu Lukaku in this showdown for fifth place https://t.co/EUQkHqbpIX #AtalantaRoma #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 12, 2024

{live, 18:48, Salernitana counter}

Tchaouna sprints on the counter, goes down under a Gatti shove, but not enough for a penalty.

{live, 18:44, Save on Milik!}

Milik with a very odd header leaning backwards, Fiorillo fingertips it away for a corner!

{live, 18:41, Juve subs}

Milik and Yildiz on, Vlahovic and Rugani off.

{live, 18:37, Salernitana sub}

Kastanos on, Ikwuemesi off. A former Juve youth team player.

{live, 18:37, Juve chance}

Cambiaso cross floated across the face of goal, Vlahovic and Bremer flying in can’t connect.

{live, 18:35, Oh dear}

A well-worked Juve passing move, until Gatti literally falls over trying to roll across.

{live, 18:30, Gatti over}

Juve free kick to the back post, Gatti nods over the bar!

{live, 18:30, Salernitana sub}

Legowski on, Vignato off

{live, 18:29, Coming up}

#ASRoma | #AtalantaRoma pic.twitter.com/sTdnetkxVx

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) May 12, 2024

{live, 18:27, Juve siege}

Fazio charges down Chiesa strike, then Locatelli effort deflected, on the resulting corner Chiesa curler through a sea of bodies flashes inches wide!

{live, 18:26, Huge Juve chance!}

Chiesa cross-shot is low, Pierozzi comes flying in to clear, it hits Rugani and goes wide! Could’ve gone anywhere.

{live, 18:24, Vlahovic so close!}

End to end! Tchaouna counters from a Juve corner, Coulibaly gets into a tangle, loses it, Chiesa then sparks the counter-counter, sends Vlahovic through and angled drive SKIMS the far post!

{live, 18:22, Juve push}

Chiesa weak finish charged down, then Locatelli and Vignato both go with high foot for the loose ball and referee is right there, waves play on.

{live, 18:20, Fazio over}

Salernitana free kick, Fazio header loops up and onto the roof of the net.

{live, 18:17, Oh….}

VAR had a check for a possible penalty, Rabiot handball on the corner. Looks like it was decided that his arm was in a natural enough position to avoid a spot-kick.

{live, 18:15, Salernitana corner}

Sambia for Pierozzi header, just like the goal, but this time blocked.

{live, 18:11, Juve effort}

Iling Junior snapshot from distance, but easy for Fiorillo.

{live, 18:10, 2nd half kicks off: Juventus 0-1 Salernitana}

Allegri confirms they remain 3-5-2. Big cheer for Chiesa.

{live, 18:06, Juve subs}

Chiesa, Iling and Miretti on, Kostic, McKennie and Kean off.

{live, 17:52, Half-Time: Juventus 0-1 Salernitana}

Loud jeers from the home fans, which is the most noise they’ve made so far today.

{live, 17:51, Kostic wide}

Juve corner taken short, Kostic drills wide of the near post.

{live, 17:46, Juve chance}

Cambiaso left-foot curler flashes just wide from the edge of the area. In fact, that might’ve just clipped the upright!

{live, 17:43, Sambia lively}

Sambia down the left, shrugs off McKennie, shot blocked by Gatti.

{live, 17:41, Kean goes down}

Too weak with Pierozzi behind him, went down as soon as he felt a hand. Ref not falling for it.

{live, 17:39, Huge Salernitana chance!}

Penalty appeals rejected, Szczesny ran a huge risk going one on one to push the ball off the feet of Ikwuemesi after great work from Tchaouna!

{live, 17:37, Bremer!}

The crowd wonder where Bremer is going surging forward, then why he just hit it from 25 metres out, then hold their breath as it flashes just wide!

{live, 17:34, Szczesny save!}

Almost 2-0 for Salernitana, Sambia free kick dips and Szczesny flies to palm it out of the near top corner!

{live, 17:33, Juve frayed}

Gatti shove on Ikwuemesi, then the defender reacts angrily to the referee awarding a free kick.

{live, 17:29, Juventus 0-1 Salernitana: Niccolo’ Pierozzi!}

That is some bad defending! Pierozzi totally unmarked for a powerful free header from six yards on the Sambia corner, it squirms past Szczesny at the near post!

{live, 17:28, Rabiot booked}

Another Juventus player carded, again for a foul on Coulibaly, this one much clearer as he was considerably late.

{live, 17:25, Vlahovic booked}

Vlahovic is stunned he has gone into the book for being late on Coulibaly. It was more of a collision than anything else.

{live, 17:23, Offside flag up}

Not terribly convinced McKennie was offside…

{live, 17:19, Juve attempt}

Juventus corner, Rabiot tries an acrobatic volley, but slips. Bremer then prevents a Salernitana counter.

{live, 17:13, Few problems}

Allegri furious with his defenders after a Salernitana attack, meanwhile the referee needs the audio equipment changed to communicate with the VAR. Might just be drenched by the ridiculous rain. Even the Juve subs are hiding.

{live, 17:11, Vlahovic off the crossbar!}

Scorcher from distance and Fiorillo has to fingertip that onto the crossbar!

{live, 17:09, Salernitana again}

Pierozzi snapshot, but straight at Szczesny.

{live, 17:05, Oh dear}

That’s not just heavy rain, that’s thunder over Turin…

{live, 17:04, Bremer decisive}

Good chance for Salernitana, Vignato surged off on the counter, Bremer had to cut across and steal it.

{live, 17:03, We have kick-off in Juventus vs. Salernitana!}

{live, 17:01, A minute’s silence}

For the 5 victims of a work-related accident near Palermo.

{live, 16:59, The teams are out}

Juventus: Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Rugani; Cambiaso, McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Vlahovic, Kean

Salernitana: Fiorillo; Pierozzi, Fazio, Pirola; Zanoli, Coulibaly, Basic, Sambia; Vignato, Tchaouna; Ikwuemesi

{live, 16:54, Max Allegri}

Max Allegri warns Juventus against thinking of the Coppa Italia Final with Atalanta, as they must ‘prove that we deserve’ victory against Salernitana first https://t.co/F08rsYdYLg #Juventus #Atalanta #JuveSalernitana #CoppaItalia #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 12, 2024

{live, 16:42, Ew}

Vlahovic tries to juggle with his chewing gum, fails, so stamps it into the turf. Gross.

{live, 16:40, Juventus ultras protesting}

Juve ultras released a very long and long-winded statement on a flyer saying their season ‘ends here’ and they’ll sit in silence for the final home game. Again, they are protesting against the club hierarchy.

{live, 16:26, Nirvana in the stadium}

A song with “here we are now, entertain us” feels pointed ahead of an Allegri game.

{live, 16:13, Warm-ups}

Watch the Juventus vs. Salernitana warm-ups live on the Lega Serie A YouTube Channel.

{live, 16:06, Match report}

#Genoa 2-1 #Sassuolo

Sassuolo fumbled the lead for an unlucky 2-1 defeat away to Genoa that leaves them verging on relegation to Serie B https://t.co/KgSBCGaO3S #GenoaSassuolo #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 12, 2024

{live, 16:03, Match report}

#HellasVerona 1-2 #Torino

Verona were about to celebrate Serie A safety when stunned by the Torino turnaround through Zanos Savva and Pietro Pellegri https://t.co/kdo3rWLB3r #VeronaTorino #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 12, 2024

{live, 16:01, FT: Genoa 2-1 Sassuolo}

The Neroverdi are in serious, serious trouble.

{live, 15:56, FT: Verona 1-2 Torino}

That was unexpected!

{live, 15:55, Juventus vs. Salernitana line-ups}

Juventus: Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Rugani; Cambiaso, McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Vlahovic, Kean

Salernitana: Fiorillo; Pierozzi, Fazio, Pirola; Zanoli, Coulibaly, Basic, Sambia; Vignato, Tchaouna; Ikwuemesi

{live, 15:50, Verona goal disallowed}

Ball in the net, but foul given for Henry push on Della Valle.

{live, 15:48, Ooh!}

Such a big chance for Verona to equalise, corner taken short, VMS punches the cross onto the face of Swiderski, it ricochets off him and goes inches wide!

{live, 15:43, Verona 1-2 Torino: Pietro Pellegri!}

How did that go in? Hard to get a tighter angle than that from Pellegrini down the right, his finish went through the legs of Montipo’, bounced off the inside of the far post and back into the net!

{live, 15:41, Torino again}

Pellegri can’t get the header on target from a Linetty cross.

{live, 15:40, Save on Ricci}

Toro have woken up, Ricci gets down the right and forces a save at the near post.

{live, 15:38, Verona 1-1 Torino: Zanos Savva!}

Goal out of nowhere, name out of nowhere, Zanos Savva scores on his Serie A debut! Cross from the right went over Pellegri’s head, but found Savva right behind him.

{live, 15:35, Save on Suslov!}

Verona counter, Suslov strike brilliantly parried by one strong hand at the near post by VMS!

{live, 15:34, Verona chance!}

Oh dear! VMS flapped at the cross, nowhere near it and Coppola header wide at the back post!

{live, 15:29, Genoa 2-1 Sassuolo: Marash Kumbulla og!}

Turnaround! Counter-attack from Genoa’s own penalty area, Gudmundsson surged forward, spread to Ekuban, roll across goes beyond Retegui, but bounces in off Kumbulla!

{live, 15:27, Verona 1-0 Torino: Karol Swiderski!}

Oh Tameze… It was a Torino throw-in, Tameze for some reason threw it straight at a Verona player and it was pulled back from the by-line by Serdar for Swiderski to tap in!

{live, 15:27, Badelj goal}

Milan Badelj sneaks in at the back post and scores what could be a decisive goal regarding the fight for survival in Serie A

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/3azzTQdTIV

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 12, 2024

{live, 15:25, Verona chance}

A good quick passing move, Noslin pulls back for Suslov, who scuffs the finish horribly wide from 12 yards!

{live, 15:21, Genoa 1-1 Sassuolo: Milan Badelj!}

Martin corner flicked on by Thorsby and nobody was marking Badelj for the free header at the back post!

{live, 15:18, OOF!}

Lauriente nudged in the back, goes flying face-first into the cover over the bench. He’s ok, fortunately.

{live, 15:13, Bonazzoli apologises}

Bonazzoli cross over-hit for Lazovic, he waves an apology.

{live, 15:10, 2nd half kicks off: Genoa 0-1 Sassuolo}

Spence and Ekuban on, Sabelli and Vogliacco off.

{live, 15:07, Save on Noslin!}

A big Verona chance, Noslin shakes off a defender, cuts inside and the low shot is palmed out of the far bottom corner!

{live, 15:06, 2nd half kicks off: Verona 0-0 Torino}

No changes

{live, 14:52, Half-Time: Genoa 0-1 Sassuolo}

Thorsby goal disallowed for handball, then Pinamonti penalty for De Winter clipping Lauriente’s heels.

{live, 14:49, Half-Time: Verona 0-0 Torino}

{live, 14:47, Verona threaten}

Noslin down the left, cuts inside and gets the shot away, crucial block from Vojvoda.

{live, 14:45, Sassuolo chance}

Pull-back from the by-line, Vasquez slips, but Lauriente first touch is heavy and allows the defender to get back at him.

{live, 14:39, Genoa appeals}

Gudmundsson goes down after crossing paths with Obiang, but no penalty.

{live, 14:37, Sassuolo chance}

Martinez gets across to palm a Lauriente free kick round the near post. On the resulting corner, Thorstvedt header again at the goalkeeper.

{live, 14:36, Verona risk own goal}

Coppola header goes just wide anticipating Sanabria on the Tameze cross, that was risky.

{live, 14:33, Genoa 0-1 Sassuolo: Andrea Pinamonti penalty!}

Sent Martinez the wrong way to sweep into the near bottom corner.

{live, 14:31, Penalty for Sassuolo!}

Turns out it wasn’t just the turf, De Winter trod on the back of Lauriente’s boot!

{live, 14:30, Oh dear}

Lauriente’ on the counter for Sassuolo, goes down in the box, but it’s because he kicked the turf.

{live, 14:26, Verona chance}

Phew! Noslin free header, but very central and plucked out of the air by VMS.

{live, 14:26, Sigh}

Liveblog isn’t broken, there’s just nothing happening. In two games.

{live, 14:19, Lazovic attempt}

Verona, Lazovic curler charged down.

{live, 14:17, Toro errors}

Torino give away two rather avoidable corners in a row.

{live, 14:11, Genoa goal disallowed!}

There was a handball in there somewhere…

{live, 14:08, Genoa 1-0 Sassuolo: Morten Thorsby}

Bit of a chaotic goal, to be kind to Sassuolo… Let’s just call that a total disaster. Martin cross flapped at horribly by the goalkeeper, then Matheus Henrique for reasons known only to himself deflects it back towards the goal, turning into an assist for the Thorsby header.

{live, 14:02, We have kick-off!}

{live, 14:00, Minute’s silence}

A minute’s silence before kick-off for the 5 victims of the work-related accident in Palermo.

{live, 14:00, Mother’s Day shirts}

Genoa and Torino are among the teams who are wearing their maternal surnames on the back of the jersey in honour of Mother’s Day.

{live, 13:50, Genoa vs. Sassuolo line-ups}

Genoa: Martinez; Vogliacco, De Winter, Vasquez; Sabelli, Frendrup, Badelj, Thorsby, Martin; Gudmundsson, Retegui

Sassuolo: Consigli; Erlic, Kumbulla, Ferrari; Toljan, Obiang, Matheus Henrique, Thorstvedt, Doig; Laurienté, Pinamonti

{live, 13:49, Verona vs. Torino line-ups}

Verona: Montipò; Centonze, Magnani, Dawidowicz, Coppola, Cabal; Serdar, Duda, Lazovic; Noslin, Bonazzoli

Torino: Milinkovic-Savic; Masina, Lovato, Rodriguez; Bellanova, Tameze, Ricci, Ilic, Vojvoda; Zapata, Sanabria

{live, 13:45, Serie A Table}

Verona 34*

Cagliari 33

Frosinone 32

Empoli 32

Empoli 30*

Sassuolo 29*

Salernitana 15*

*game in hand

{live, 13:36, Vecino goal}

Matías Vecino all but wraps up a home win for Lazio

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/7usRJd6tKf

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 12, 2024

{live, 13:35, Lazio 2-0 Empoli}

#Lazio 2-0 #Empoli

Lazio are on a roll with their fourth win in five Serie A games, as Patric and Matias Vecino got the better of relegation strugglers Empoli to stay in the European race https://t.co/TRpIgqNSNl #LazioEmpoli #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 12, 2024

{live, 13:30, FT: Lazio 2-0 Empoli}

Last kick of the game, wonderful Fazzini free kick was going into the near top corner, but Mandas flew to palm it away!

{live, 13:23, Lazio 2-0 Empoli: Matias Vecino!}

Good passing move left to right, Pedro rolls across for Vecino, who runs forward through the centre, takes a touch and beats Caprile.

{live, 13:22, Lazio sub}

Cataldi replaces Kamada

{live, 13:20, Mandas save!}

Genuine Empoli chance there, corner finds Shpendi for the header at the back post, crucial Mandas save to parry!

{live, 13:15, Empoli waste}

Free kick from the edge of the area, charged down by Kamada. Another free kick, Shpendi header easy for Mandas.

{live, 13:10, Subs}

Pedro replaces Zaccagni.

Fazzini and Shpendi on for Maleh and Luperto. Empoli go 4 at the back.

{live, 13:04, Kamada strike}

Power behind it, but was also straight at the goalkeeper.

{live, 13:03, Empoli push}

Cambiaghi flashes a ball across the six-yard box, but nobody is ready to tap in.

{live, 13:01, Vecino wide}

Lazio counter with Vecino running from his own half, but he drills wide from the D.

{live, 13:00, Empoli subs}

Destro and Cacace on, Pezzella and Caputo off. Still no Niang?

{live, 13:00, Verona vs. Torino line-ups}

Verona: Montipò; Centonze, Magnani, Dawidowicz, Coppola, Cabal; Serdar, Duda, Lazovic; Noslin, Bonazzoli

Torino: Milinkovic-Savic; Masina, Lovato, Rodriguez; Bellanova, Tameze, Ricci, Ilic, Vojvoda; Zapata, Sanabria

{live, 12:58, Lazio subs}

Rovella, Castellanos and Vecino on, Felipe Anderson, Immobile and Guendouzi off.

{live, 12:54, Felipe Anderson over}

Felipe Anderson attempt from outside the box deflected over, first of a series of corners for Lazio.

{live, 12:51, Bad idea, Caputo}

Caputo gathers with his back to goal, really should lay it off rather than fire high and wide from an improbable position.

{live, 12:50, Genoa vs. Sassuolo line-ups}

Genoa: Martinez; Vogliacco, De Winter, Vasquez; Sabelli, Frendrup, Badelj, Thorsby, Martin; Gudmundsson, Retegui

Sassuolo: Consigli; Erlic, Kumbulla, Ferrari; Toljan, Obiang, Matheus Henrique, Thorstvedt, Doig; Laurienté, Pinamonti

{live, 12:49, Empoli sub}

Cambiaghi on for Bastoni.

{live, 12:47, Immobile slip}

Lazio counter after Maleh free kick appeal rejected, but Immobile then slips at the crucial moment.

{live, 12:41, Lazio chance}

An odd bobble on the pitch surprises Zaccagni, who can’t finish it off.

{live, 12:39, 2nd half kicks off: Lazio 1-0 Empoli}

{live, 12:30, Patric goal}

Pinpoint from Mattia Zaccagni

Up from the back, Patric fires Lazio into the lead against Empoli…

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/nfY52xbgul

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 12, 2024

{live, 12:22, Half-Time: Lazio 1-0 Empoli}

Lazio lead, realistically somewhat against the run of play.

{live, 12:20, Lazio 1-0 Empoli: Patric!}

Zaccagni free kick charged down by Gyasi’s face, but on the resulting Zaccagni corner, nobody is marking Patric, who is allowed totally unmarked to flick in off the outside of the boot from a couple of yards! Bereszynski lost his man.

{live, 12:18, Empoli again}

Caputo robs Lazzari on the edge of the area, but Maleh fires over. The crowd jeers in irritation.

{live, 12:15, Calm down, Patric}

A well-worked Empoli passing move, roll across from the right intercepted by Patric, who then does a full-on multiple fist-pump celebration like he just scored. Move continues, shot over the bar.

{live, 12:10, Caprile save}

Immobile springs the offside trap, sees nobody in support, so has to go for goal at the near post, Caprile palms it round the upright!

{live, 12:08, What a save, Mandas!}

Huuuuuuge chance for Empoli! Guendouzi error gives it away, Cancellieri nutmegs Romagnoli and rolls across for Caputo, stunning save from Mandas!

{live, 12:06, Empoli threaten}

Bastoni with not quite a cross, not quite a shot, goes past everyone and the far top corner.

{live, 12:00, Empoli chance}

Oh they should’ve done better there! Empoli corner, Ismajli fairly free diving header over the bar!

{live, 11:57, Immobile chance}

That was odd. Immobile give and go, bursts into the box, goes around Caprile and then goes down a long time afterwards, seemed to just put his foot down badly. Didn’t appear to be any contact.

{live, 11:56, Lazio chance}

Kamada through ball for Immobile, Ismajli crucial block to force him wide for the corner.

{live, 11:53, Empoli once more}

Kamada gives it away horribly in midfield, Bastoni curler from distance has Mandas stranded, but skims the crossbar!

{live, 11:51, Empoli again}

Bastoni attempt charged down in the box.

{live, 11:50, Empoli goal disallowed}

Ciccio Caputo scores at the second attempt one-on-one with Mandas, but was visibly offside.

{live, 11:47, Pezzella risky}

Pezzella clotheslines Felipe Anderson, somehow not a yellow card.

{live, 11:43, Felipe Anderson effort}

Nice dribble down the left from Kamada, pull back for Felipe Anderson, but the finish is charged down.

{live, 11:40, Ismajli alert}

Felipe Anderson cross for Immobile, crucial Ismajli header to intercept. Crowd already annoyed with Caprile for taking ages over his goal kicks.

{live, 11:39, Whoops}

Referee a bit too close to the action, got bumped by the ball twice already, much to the irritation of Guendouzi.

{live, 11:33, We have kick-off in Lazio vs. Empoli!}

The first of five Serie A games today.

{live, 11:31, A minute’s silence}

Before all games this weekend, a minute’s silence for the 5 victims of the work accident in Palermo.

{live, 11:28, Out come the teams}

Lazio: Mandas; Patric, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Lazzari, Guendouzi, Kamada, Marusic; Felipe Anderson, Zaccagni; Immobile

Empoli: Caprile; Bereszynski, Ismajli, Luperto; Gyasi, Bastoni, Marin, Maleh, Pezzella; Cancellieri, Caputo

{live, 11:21, Scudetto-winning heroes}

Gli 𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐈 del 1974#AvantiLazio pic.twitter.com/zmOlbYmoJ6

— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) May 12, 2024

Lazio ieri. Lazio oggi. 𝗟𝗔𝗭𝗜𝗢 𝗦𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗥𝗘.#AvantiLazio pic.twitter.com/7xmKUlz26l

— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) May 12, 2024

{live, 11:06, Celebrating Scudetto anniversary}

#AvantiLazio pic.twitter.com/WdFikYf6Xb

— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) May 12, 2024

{live, 10:53, Special shirt}

Lazio wearing a special edition jersey to mark the 50th anniversary of their first Scudetto in 1973-74.

La maglia celebrativa del nostro primo mitico Scudetto è disponibile negli store e nello shop online.

1974-2024, la Storia si veste di nuovo.

Scopri di più su https://t.co/crVStWGPIf!#unamagliaunaleggenda pic.twitter.com/wWLkHI9C53

— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) April 26, 2024

{live, 10:45, Igor Tudor}

Lazio coach Igor Tudor confirms to Sky Sport Italia before kick-off that Luis Alberto has been left out of the squad. He is not injured.

{live, 10:24, Lazio vs. Empoli line-ups}

Lazio: Mandas; Patric, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Lazzari, Guendouzi, Kamada, Marusic; Felipe Anderson, Zaccagni; Immobile

Empoli: Caprile; Bereszynski, Ismajli, Luperto; Gyasi, Bastoni, Marin, Maleh, Pezzella; Cancellieri, Caputo

Serie A Super Sunday

All the build-up and action as it happens from today’s five Serie A games, Lazio-Empoli, Genoa-Sassuolo, Verona-Torino, Juventus-Salernitana and a massive Atalanta-Roma for fifth place.

We begin at 11.30 UK time (10.30 GMT) with Lazio fighting for Europe against an Empoli side battling against relegation.

At 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT), there’s Genoa-Sassuolo and Verona-Torino.

Juventus host already-relegated Salernitana at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), where the Bianconeri can guarantee Champions League qualification.

All eyes on Bergamo at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), as Atalanta and Roma go head-to-head for fifth place after the Europa League semi-finals.

Verona and Sassuolo fumbled leads to suffer defeats and now there are six teams crammed in a five-point radius, with two going down to Serie B.

The race is increasingly tight to avoid relegation from Serie A, although Lecce have guaranteed their safety on 37 points, even before tomorrow’s game with Udinese.

Verona would’ve been safe too with a win today and were leading against Torino at the Stadio Bentegodi before capitulating 2-1 this afternoon.

That leaves them on 34 points, only one clear of Cagliari and two ahead of both Frosinone and Empoli.

Serie A relegation race hots up

Udinese could take a huge leap forward tomorrow, as if they beat Lecce, then they’ll clamber from 18^th place to joint 15^th on 33 points, the same as Cagliari.

Sassuolo had the opportunity to catch up too, but remain in penultimate place on 29 points following a 2-1 defeat to Genoa, a match they had been leading at half-time.

Next week’s fixtures look as if they could be decisive, specifically Sassuolo-Cagliari and Udinese-Empoli, while Verona visit doomed Salernitana.

Igor Tudor wants people to acknowledge Lazio’s extraordinary form since he took over. ‘We would be top of the table.’

The Biancocelesti are certainly in form, winning four of their last five Serie A games and moving to within a point of a Roma side who visit Atalanta this evening.

Today’s 2-0 win over Empoli, and Napoli losing to Bologna yesterday, mean Lazio are guaranteed to finish the season ahead of last year’s Champions of Italy.

“It is a good way to celebrate,” Tudor told Sky Sport Italia, referring to the 50^th anniversary of the 1974 Scudetto triumph.

“We had to suffer, but the quality showed through in the end. It brings us closer to Europe, we’ll see where we are at the end of the season, but the only objective is to do as well as possible.”

Tudor wants recognition for Lazio

Since Tudor took over from Maurizio Sarri, nobody has done better than his 16 points in seven Serie A rounds.

“If someone asks what can you improve, how do you reply? I say that since I arrived, Lazio would be top of the table with Inter.

“I don’t think beating Empoli 2-0 is to be taken for granted and treating it that way puts negativity onto the team,” argued the coach.

“We can improve in the details, but every game in Serie A is tough and Empoli try to pounce on errors. Our goalkeeper was excellent today, but that is his job.”

Tudor opted to leave Luis Alberto out of the squad this weekend as punishment for a poor attitude in training, so how is he getting the players over to his side after Sarri’s era?

“Clearly, everyone wants to play all the time and I can only pick XI. Players must adapt quickly and they did that, then the results arrived.

“It is a difficult job, I arrived mid-season with all the difficulties that brings, a different style of football. You have to be fair to the players and make your choices in good faith.

“I make my choices based on what I see during the week. Nothing more and nothing less. From Tuesday a new week of training begins and we start again.”

Lazio are on a roll with their fourth win in five Serie A games, as Patric and Matias Vecino got the better of relegation strugglers Empoli to stay in the European race.

Coach Igor Tudor left Luis Alberto at home over disciplinary issues and was missing injured Mario Gila, with Ivan Provedel still not ready in goal.  The visitors were still without Sebastian Walukiewicz, Alberto Cerri and Tyronne Ebuehi.

See how it unfolded on the Liveblog.

Lazio wore special jerseys and welcomed the heroes of 1974 before kick-off to mark the 50^th anniversary of their first Scudetto.

Ciccio Caputo had the ball in the net after 17 minutes, but was clearly offside on the Matteo Cancellieri pass when going one-on-one with Christos Mandas, while Simone Bastoni curled just over after pouncing on a Daichi Kamada error.

Ciro Immobile completed a give and go to burst into the box, but Elia Caprile did enough to steer him wide without contact.

Ardian Ismajli should’ve done better when turning his diving header over from a corner, but Empoli had a huge opportunity when Matteo Guendouzi gave it away, Cancellieri nutmegged Alessio Romagnoli and rolled across for Caputo, forcing a stunning Mandas reaction save.

Moments later, Immobile sprung the offside trap and tested Caprile at the near post, but the visitors twice fired just over with Razvan Marin from the edge of the area.

However, it was Lazio who took the lead with the last kick of the half, as a Mattia Zaccagni corner found Patric surprisingly unmarked to flick in off the outside of the boot from a couple of yards at the near post.

Pinpoint from Mattia Zaccagni

Up from the back, Patric fires Lazio into the lead against Empoli…

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/nfY52xbgul

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 12, 2024

Felipe Anderson’s attempt was deflected over and Matias Vecino fired wide on the counter-attack, while Kamada blasted straight at Caprile.

Mandas had to make a fantastic reaction save to fingertip the Shpendi header off the line at the back post, but Lazio doubled their lead soon after when Vecino finished off the passing move left to right, meeting Pedro’s pass to surge through the centre.

Matías Vecino all but wraps up a home win for Lazio

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/7usRJd6tKf

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 12, 2024

The last kick of the game was a wonderful Jacopo Fazzini free kick that Mandas flew to fingertip out of the near top corner.

Lazio 2-0 Empoli

Patric 45 (L), Vecino 89 (L)

12-05-2024 11:30

MatchDay 36

Stadio Olimpico

Lazio

Empoli

2 - 0

Player statistic

1st half

Patric (Assist: Mattia Zaccagni)

45+3'

2nd half

		73'		Emmanuel Gyasi
Manuel Lazzari		78'
Nicolò Rovella		86'
Matías Vecino (Assist: Pedro)		89'
Alessio Romagnoli		90+6'

Match statistic

60

Possession %

40

11

Total shots

16

5

Shots on target

3

1

Shots off target

9

5

Blocked shots

4

7

Corners

7

Offsides

3

18

Fouls

16

Lazio

Empoli

Starting lineups

35

Christos Mandas

Goalkeeper

77

Adam Marusic

Defender

13

Alessio Romagnoli

Defender

23

Elseid Hysaj

Defender

29

Manuel Lazzari

Defender

4

Patric

Defender

6

Daichi Kamada

Midfielder

88'

8

Mattéo Guendouzi

Midfielder

65'

20

Mattia Zaccagni

Midfielder

76'

17

Ciro Immobile

Attacker

65'

7

Felipe Anderson

Attacker

65'

25

Elia Caprile

Goalkeeper

34

Ardian Ismajli

Defender

19

Bartosz Bereszynski

Defender

3

Giuseppe Pezzella

Defender

67'

33

Sebastiano Luperto

Defender

77'

18

Razvan Marin

Midfielder

30

Simone Bastoni

Midfielder

55'

29

Youssef Maleh

Midfielder

76'

11

Emmanuel Gyasi

Attacker

9

Francesco Caputo

Attacker

67'

20

Matteo Cancellieri

Attacker

Substitutes

3

Luca Pellegrini

Defender

15

Nicolò Casale

Defender

94

Ivan Provedel

Goalkeeper

18

Gustav Isaksen

Attacker

22

Diego González

Attacker

59

Davide Renzetti

Goalkeeper

65

Nicolò Rovella

Midfielder

65'

5

Matías Vecino

Midfielder

65'

19

Taty Castellanos

Attacker

65'

9

Pedro

Attacker

76'

32

Danilo Cataldi

Midfielder

88'

27

Szymon Zurkowski

Midfielder

5

Alberto Grassi

Midfielder

17

Alberto Cerri

Attacker

4

Sebastian Walukiewicz

Defender

8

Viktor Kovalenko

Midfielder

1

Samuele Perisan

Goalkeeper

10

M’Baye Niang

Attacker

12

Jacopo Seghetti

Goalkeeper

2

Saba Goglichidze

Defender

28

Nicolò Cambiaghi

Attacker

55'

23

Mattia Destro

Attacker

67'

13

Liberato Cacace

Defender

67'

21

Jacopo Fazzini

Midfielder

76'

7

Stiven Shpendi

Attacker

77'

Five Serie A matches are set to take place this Sunday, including Lazio’s visit from Empoli and Juventus’ hosting of Salernitana, which could mathematically secure a spot in the 2024-25 Champions League for Max Allegri’s side. 

Lazio and Empoli are up first, kicking off at 11.30 BST. Luis Alberto is expected to be left out of the starting line-up for tactical reasons. 

The Biancocelesti could instead line up with a midfield pairing of Matteo Guendouzi and Daichi Kamada, with Mattia Zaccagni and Felipe Anderson on the flanks in support of centre-forward Ciro Immobile. 

Genoa have a fully fit and available squad ready to face Sassuolo, who themselves are without Domenico Berardi, Samu Castillejo and Gregoire Defrel. 

Ivan Juric is not expected to make too many alterations to his Torino side when they face Hellas Verona.  

Reports over the weekend suggest that Allegri could make several changes to his side ahead of Wednesday’s Coppa Italia final against Atalanta. 

Several players, including the likes of Adrien Rabiot, captain Danilo and leading goalscorer Dusan Vlahovic, could be afforded a rest, according to updates from Gianluca Di Marzio. 

That means that Southampton loanee Carlos Alcaraz could be given a go in midfield, Samuel Iling-Junior could feature, and Arkadiusz Milik is in line for a run-out. 

Serie A probable line-ups 

Lazio-Empoli (11.30 BST)

Lazio (3-4-2-1): Mandas; Patric, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Lazzari, Kamada, Guendouzi, Marusic; Felipe Anderson, Zaccagni; Immobile.

Empoli (3-2-4-1): Caprile; Bereszynski, Ismajli, Luperto; Gyasi, Grassi, Marin, Pezzella; Fazzini, Cambiaghi; Niang. 

Genoa-Sassuolo (14.00)

Genoa (3-4-1-2): Martinez; Vogliacco, De Winter, Vasquez; Sabelli, Frendrup, Badelj, Martin; Ekuban; Retegui, Gudmundsson. 

Sassuolo (3-5-2): Consigli; Erlic, Ferrari, Kumbulla; Toljan, Henrique, Lipani, Thorstvedt, Doig; Pinamonti, Lauriente. 

Verona-Torino (14.00)

Verona (4-2-3-1): Montipo; Centonze, Coppola, Magnani, Cabal; Serdar, Duda; Noslin, Suslov, Lazovic; Bonazzoli. 

Torino (3-4-1-2): Milinkovic-Savic; Vojvoda, Buongiorno, Masina; Bellanova, Ilic, Ricci, Rodriguez; Vlasic; Zapata, Sanabria. 

Juventus-Salernitana (17.00)

Juventus (3-5-2): Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Rugani; Cambiaso, McKennie, Locatelli, Alcaraz, Iling Junior; Milik, Chiesa

Salernitana (3-4-2-1): Fiorillo; Pierozzi, Fazio, Pirola; Sambia, Coulibaly, Basic, Zanoli; Vignato, Tchaouna; Ikwuemesi. 

Atalanta-Roma (19.45)

Atalanta (3-4-1-2): Carnesecchi; Scalvini, Hien, Djimsiti; Hateboer, De Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri; Pasalic; Miranchuk, Scamacca.

Roma (4-3-3): Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Smalling, Angelino; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Baldanzi, Lukaku, El Shaarawy.

Lazio star Luis Alberto did not participate in a training session on Saturday and was left out of the Bianconcelesti squad for disciplinary reasons ahead of Sunday’s game with Empoli.

New trouble for Lazio and Luis Alberto as the Spanish midfielder did not show up to Formello this morning, prompting coach Igor Tuor to leave him out of his squad list for disciplinary reasons.

Several sources in Italy, including Calciomercato.com, claim Luis Alberto was not injured but deliberately decided not to join his teammates for a training session on the eve of a key Serie A match against Empoli.

Luis Alberto out of Lazio squad as Spanish star misses training

For this reason, he was omitted from the Lazio squad.

The Spanish midfielder extended his contract with Lazio this past October after months of intense negotiations but exactly a month ago, he said after a Serie A match against Salernitana that he wanted to terminate the agreement with the club at the end of the season.

Luis Alberto’s compatriot Mario Gila wasn’t called up either, but the 23-year-old is recovering from an injury.

The Lega Serie A have confirmed the dates and kick-off times for Week 37 fixtures and also announced Atalanta–Fiorentina will be on June 2 – after the season has ended.

This will be the penultimate full round of the tournament and it could not be set in stone until today because they had to work around several issues.

These include the participation of Atalanta in the Europa League Final against Bayer Leverkusen and of Fiorentina in the Conference League Final with Olympiacos.

The Lega Serie A also confirmed the match between Atalanta and Fiorentina, originally scheduled for March 17, will be played in Bergamo on Sunday June 2 at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT).

It was called off when Fiorentina director Joe Barone collapsed in the team hotel, dying two days later in hospital.

Serie A Week 37

Friday May 17

Fiorentina-Napoli (19.45 UK)

Saturday May 18

Lecce-Atalanta (17.00 UK)

Torino–Milan (19.45 UK)

Sunday May 19

Sassuolo–Cagliari (11.30 UK)

Monza-Frosinone (14.00 UK)

Udinese–Empoli (14.00 UK)

Inter–Lazio (17.00 UK)

Roma–Genoa (19.45 UK)

Monday May 20

Salernitana–Verona (17.30 UK)

Bologna–Juventus (19.45 UK)

Empoli striker M’Baye Niang was involved in a car crash last night in the Tuscany city, luckily avoiding any serious injuries.

On February 20^th, the former Milan striker crashed his Mercedes SUV into a few parked cars in the early hours of the morning after returning from a religious gathering. He was taken to hospital but was mostly unharmed, taking to the pitch four days later in a Serie A clash with Sassuolo, where he scored.

Niang spent the first half of this season with Adana Demirspor before returning to Serie A at the end of the January transfer window, joining Empoli in a deal worth around €250,000, putting pen to paper on a six-month contract.

Niang car crash

As detailed by La Nazione via Calciomercato.com, at around 7:30pm local time on Monday evening, Niang was in an SUV which crashed into two parked vehicles, damaging another car and a van. The incident occurred near the Shalom theatre in Empoli.

Whilst details on the situation are light, no ambulances were sent to the scene and there were no major injuries. It’s still unclear if the 29-year-old striker was behind the wheel of the car or simply a passenger.

{end, 21:42, That’s all for the Liveblog}

#ASRoma 1-1 #Juventus

Gleison Bremer cancelled out the Romelu Lukaku opener in a spectacular match with numerous chances at both ends, but Juventus will feel happier with a point than Roma https://t.co/AY1ywiIbp9 #RomaJuve #SerieA #RomaJuventus #SerieATIM #Calcio

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 5, 2024

{live, 21:41, Serie A table}

Milan 71

Juventus 66

Bologna 64

Roma 60

Atalanta 57**

Lazio 56

** 2 games in hand

{live, 21:39, FT: Roma 1-1 Juventus}

Allegri’s jacket is off, he storms away in a rage.

{live, 21:37, Roma chance!}

Abraham is going clear, he draws Szczesny out, but the goalkeeper manages to make the save anyway!

{live, 21:34, Comedy defending}

Roma cross, Danilo clears it onto Kostic’s face and the ricochet gives away a corner. Even Szczesny found that quite funny…

{live, 21:34, Stoppages}

5 minutes

{live, 21:32, Technique again}

Another fabulous first touch to stop a ball dead, this time from Milik, and shot charged down. Before that, Zalewski counter-attack stopped by Alcaraz sliding tackle.

{live, 21:31, SVILAR!}

Another ridiculous reaction save to push a Kean header over the bar from a corner!

{live, 21:28, Juve sub}

Alcaraz replaces Cambiaso.

{live, 21:27, Abraham booked}

Unintentional, but your classic ‘step on foot’ on Danilo that always gets a card in Italy.

{live, 21:22, What a save!}

Suddenly Juve break free of the siege, a loose ball bounces in the box, Locatelli slips while taking the volley, which gives it a weird loop and Svilar flies to fingertip it over the bar!

{live, 21:22, Roma sub}

Bove on for Pellegrini

{live, 21:21, Zalewski attempt}

Zalewski attempt charged down after handball appeals, but it definitely struck Cambiaso on the stomach and groin, not the arm.

{live, 21:19, Juve subs}

Milik and Kean on, Vlahovic and Chiesa off.

{live, 21:18, Roma corner}

It’s all Roma at the moment, not sure where they are getting this energy from, but they are pinning Juve back with a series of corners and free kicks.

{live, 21:17, Roma chance}

Pellegrini cross deflected just beyond the head of Abraham for another corner.

{live, 21:16, Danilo goal-line clearance}

Wojciech Szczęsny comes up HUGE for Juventus pic.twitter.com/KI1gD9vTKY

— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 5, 2024

{live, 21:14, Rabiot booked}

Yellow card for the sliding tackle through the back of Kristensen.

{live, 21:13, Actually}

Szczesny did not get to that Kristensen effort, it was Danilo who cleared it off the line!

{live, 21:12, Incredible!}

This game has gone mad! Roma corner creates general chaos, pings back and forth until incredible Szczesny save on Kristensen!

{live, 21:11, Roma subs}

Abraham and Azmoun on, Lukaku and Baldanzi off.

{live, 21:10, Roma chance!}

Baldanzi squirms away down the right, gets away from two to pull back from the by-line, Pellegrini shot from 12 yards deflected inches wide by Bremer!

{live, 21:10, Juve pushing}

Gatti blasts over, then Vlahovic attempt easy for Svilar.

{live, 21:08, End to end!}

After a Roma attack falls apart, Chiesa counters, cuts inside and rolls across the six-yard box, Vlahovic can’t get there in time!

{live, 21:07, Svilar save}

The game has opened up, end to end now! McKennie intercepts a loose ball, then Rabiot scorcher beaten away by Svilar.

{live, 21:06, Roma attack}

Roma counter-attack, Pellegrini strike charged down and deflected into the path of Szczesny.

{live, 21:05, Save on Chiesa}

Chiesa cuts inside from the left and gets the shot away, Svilar palms it round the near post for a corner.

{live, 21:04, Juve sub}

Allegri knows that too and takes Weah off for his own good, introducing Kostic.

{live, 21:03, DAZN verdict}

DAZN refereeing expert Luca Marelli claims that wasn’t even a foul, as he got the ball first, then kept sliding and crashed into Paredes. But seeing as the referee did give a foul, you can certainly see why it would warrant a yellow…

{live, 21:01, Weah in trouble here}

Weah was booked in the opening minutes, he risks another for that challenge on Paredes in midfield. Referee decides a free kick will suffice. Roma enraged.

{live, 21:01, Roma corners}

Series of Roma corners come to nothing.

{live, 20:59, Juve chance}

Corner comes to Vlahovic, who anticipates Kristensen, but volleys it over from close range.

{live, 20:56, Roma pressure}

Series of Roma crosses cleared, eventually one is cushioned back to Szczesny.

{live, 20:53, Cambiaso blasts over}

Series of appeals from both teams, ref lets a lot go, it is helping the intensity of the game.

{live, 20:50, Chiesa off the post!}

What a goal that would’ve been! Chiesa surges forward, unleashes a stunner off the inside of the left boot and it smashes off the inside of the far post, bounces back out!

{live, 20:48, 2nd half kicks off: Roma 1-1 Juventus}

{live, 20:47, Roma sub}

Zalewski on, Dybala off. We have to assume that’s a fitness issue, especially with the Europa League coming up.

{live, 20:46, Zalewski coming on}

Not sure who for yet, but Zalewski is all ready and has a terrible new haircut – let’s call it The Rodrigo De Paul.

{live, 20:35, There’s a trend here}

pic.twitter.com/qqrz2d556A

— Serie A Out of Context (@CalcioNoContext) May 5, 2024

{live, 20:30, Half-Time: Roma 1-1 Juventus}

Bremer header cancels out the Lukaku opener.

{live, 20:29, Dybala over}

Dybala over again, after Juve put the entire team in the wall…

{live, 20:28, Baldanzi brought down}

Roma attack in waves, Baldanzi cuts inside and is brought down by Danilo just outside the area. Roma want a yellow card as well as a free kick.

{live, 20:27, Roma corner}

Technique is so important. Chiesa’s first touch to stop the ball going out for the goal, now Dybala’s take to win a corner. From which Ndicka nods over.

{live, 20:25, Juve chance}

McKennie gets down the right and stands up a cross, which Locatelli nods off target.

{live, 20:23, Dybala close}

Free kick just outside the area, it goes over the wall, but also inches over the bar.

{live, 20:21, Bremer goal}

A perfectly-weighted cross from Chiesa is headed home by Bremer!

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/LqCJywugdT

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 5, 2024

{live, 20:15, Roma 1-1 Juventus: Gleison Bremer!}

After a Juve corner is not cleared effectively, Chiesa whips a ball into the box and Bremer leaps above the crowd to nod into the far top corner!

{live, 20:11, Roma chance}

Pellegrini looks up, everyone is marked, so he tries a curler and it is deflected for a corner.

{live, 20:08, Juve pressure}

Not really amounting to much, Weah cross into the arms of Svilar. But it’s a reaction. Allegri’s Juve knowing they need a goal do go into panic mode.

{live, 20:05, Lukaku goal}

𝐁𝐈𝐆 goal from Romelu Lukaku to open the scoring vs. Juventus!

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/FtMFWXvXe2

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 5, 2024

{live, 20:02, Juve attack}

Well, Rabiot attacks, gets to the by-line and pulls back, but there’s no support and Svilar smothers.

{live, 20:00, Roma 1-0 Juventus: Romelu Lukaku!}

That was a real General Chaos goal! Juve defending so deep they were practically off the pitch, Dybala pulls back, Cristante shot blocked by Gatti on the line, but only into the path of Lukaku to tap in!

{live, 19:57, Lukaku over}

Angelino cross finds Lukaku, but he nods it over the bar.

{live, 19:55, Roma hit the crossbar!}

A very long Roma passing move concludes with a cross for Rasmus Kristensen, whose header thumps the crossbar!

{live, 19:51, Vlahovic so close}

Big chance for Juventus! Chiesa dribbles through a crowd of players, manages to roll it across for Vlahovic, who then fires wide!

{live, 19:49, Weah booked}

Timothy Weah press a little too aggressive on Svilar, goes flying in and is booked for fouling the goalkeeper.

{live, 19:48, Juve chance}

Chiesa cuts inside from the left, right foot shot not far over the bar at all…

{live, 19:47, Frantic start}

So much for fatigue, the tempo is frantic from the start.

{live, 19:45, Daniele De Rossi}

Daniele De Rossi explains why he has changed tactics against Juventus and calls on Roma fans to help ‘fire us up’ when energy starts to flag https://t.co/qF99W2lpRm #ASRoma #Juventus #SerieA #RomaJuve #SerieATIM #RomaJuventus #Calcio

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 5, 2024

{live, 19:45, We have kick-off in Roma vs. Juventus!}

{live, 19:42, Out come the teams}

Roma: Svilar; Kristensen, Llorente, Ndicka, Angelino; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Dybala, Baldanzi; Lukaku

Juventus: Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; Weah, McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot, Cambiaso; Vlahovic, Chiesa

{live, 19:39, Cristiano Giuntoli}

Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli proved his ‘Bianconeri DNA’ with a special reminder ahead of the Roma match, but shrugged off all questions about the future https://t.co/VcTCsXg4KQ #Juventus #SerieA #RomaJuve #SerieATIM #RomaJuventus #Calcio

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 5, 2024

{live, 19:19, Timothy Weah (Juventus)}

“It is a difficult match today, it’s important to be concentrated, tactically focused, play all together with confidence. I feel good, I try to help the team as much as I can. I hope it all goes well. I need to attack today, not just defend!”

{live, 19:18, Diego Llorente (Roma)}

“After many matches, I think we have the opportunity to fight for a place in the Champions League and we need to win in front of our fans at the Olimpico. We worked really hard, prepared for the match and every game is different.”

{live, 19:14, CBS build-up}

"If there is any common sense within Juventus management, then it would mean that Max Allegri should not maintain as coach with Juventus." @IFTVMarco & @Bonetti back Thiago Motta as the next manager of The Old Lady pic.twitter.com/VeYQB10J7k

— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 5, 2024

"I think the jury is very much still out on De Rossi." @MikeGrella10 is not sold on Daniele De Rossi at Roma pic.twitter.com/VcEfCBapH3

— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 5, 2024

{live, 19:06, Miralem Pjanic on DAZN}

“We used to divide up the free kicks at Juventus, me and Paulo Dybala. Then Cristiano Ronaldo arrived and we just had to put the ball down for him. We stood nearby purely to get into the photograph!”

{live, 19:04, Roma vs. Juventus line-ups}

Roma: Svilar; Kristensen, Llorente, Ndicka, Angelino; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Dybala, Baldanzi; Lukaku

Juventus: Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; Weah, McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot, Cambiaso; Vlahovic, Chiesa

{live, 18:59, Roma vs. Juventus warm-ups}

Watch the warm-ups LIVE on the Lega Serie A YouTube Channel.

{live, 18:56, Match report}

#ACMilan 3-3 #Genoa

There was a strange atmosphere in this 3-3 thriller with Genoa, as Milan fans sat in silence to protest their season, then walked out 10 minutes from time https://t.co/seXMtn85nG #MilanGenoa #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 5, 2024

{live, 18:54, FT: Milan 3-3 Genoa}

Loud jeers from the Milan fans who remain…

{live, 18:53, Giroud over}

Adli free kick floated to the back post, Giroud cannot do much with the header.

{live, 18:52, Milan chance!}

What a goal that would’ve been, ball floated over the top, Theo Hernandez lets it fall over his shoulder and volleys just over!

{live, 18:50, Own goal}

Lega Serie A inspected the footage and gave that Genoa goal as a Thiaw og.

{live, 18:49, Reijnders chance}

Reijnders drills from the edge of the box, it goes wide and there was an earlier foul anyway. We enter 5 minutes of stoppages.

{live, 18:46, Milan 3-3 Genoa: Mateo Retegui!}

Slightly comical goal! Thorsby gets down the right, rolls across, it bounces off both Tomori and Thiaw until it ricochets over the line off Retegui!

{live, 18:45, Genoa subs}

Cittadini and Papadopoulos on, Vogliacco and Ekuban off.

{live, 18:41, Team News}

#ASRoma vs. #Juventus line-ups

This is a huge head-to-head for Champions League qualification, as Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku lead Roma against Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa for Juventus https://t.co/JCn7jdEObk #RomaJuve #SerieA #RomaJuventus #SerieATIM #Calcio

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 5, 2024

{live, 18:40, Milan fans walk out}

Another part of the protest, entire Curva Sud walks out 10 minutes before the end.

{live, 18:39, Triple Milan sub}

Adli, Thiaw and Kalulu on, Florenzi, Chukwueze and Bennacer off.

{live, 18:38, Sportiello saves!}

Thorsby offside anyway, so irrelevant, but Sportiello didn’t know that and had to make a double reaction save on Thorsby and then Ekuban!

{live, 18:36, Roma vs. Juventus line-ups}

Roma: Svilar; Kristensen, Llorente, Ndicka, Angelino; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Dybala, Baldanzi; Lukaku

Juventus: Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; Weah, McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot, Cambiaso; Vlahovic, Chiesa

{live, 18:33, Milan 3-2 Genoa: Olivier Giroud!}

What a turnaround! Pulisic gets down the right, stands up a cross, Giroud watches it come down and strikes on the volley with the left foot from a tricky angle!

{live, 18:32, Genoa subs}

Strootman and Haps on, Badelj and Martin off.

{live, 18:31, Milan 2-2 Genoa: Matteo Gabbia!}

Florenzi corner and towering header, bounces off the ground into the far bottom corner!

{live, 18:30, Coming up}

Stadio Olimpico. #ASRoma | #RomaJuventus pic.twitter.com/voVR63ZulC

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) May 5, 2024

{live, 18:28, OH GIROUD!}

Oh dear oh dear oh dear…. Okafor did so well to sprint down the right and roll it across, Giroud alone against Martinez, dinks it WIDE of an open goal. Just… shocking.

{live, 18:26, Milan are trying}

Chukwueze pass for Reijnders intercepted by Martinez, then Florenzi balloons over.

Okafor replaces Rafael Leao, who does not look pleased.

{live, 18:25, Ekuban goal}

TOWERING CALEB EKUBAN PUTS GENOA AHEAD OF MILAN AGAIN pic.twitter.com/DhcC3NnbA3

— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 5, 2024

{live, 18:23, Save on Theo Hernandez}

He had memories of that goal against Atalanta there, ran from his own half and went all the way, should’ve passed, but instead prodded the weak finish at Martinez.

{live, 18:22, Oh dear}

Rafael Leao loudly jeered after booting an effort into Row Z.

{live, 18:18, Three-way collision}

Chukwueze cross punched off the head of Giroud by Martinez, catching him on the way through, while Leao also goes down after a knock.

{live, 18:16, Milan try}

Reijnders pulls back from the by-line, but Badelj makes a decisive interception.

{live, 18:13, Ekuban hobbles off}

Seemed to cross paths with Tomori and accidentally get his heel trodden on. Not on purpose, but still sore. Needs treatment.

{live, 18:10, Milan goal disallowed!}

Chukwueze was too frantic there, made the run too early and was caught offside for the angled drive.

{live, 18:07, Milan 1-2 Genoa: Caleb Ekuban!}

That was just odd. Long goal kick from Martinez, Milan seem to just forget to track back en masse, they do manage to block the Frendrup strike, but then cross from the right by Vogliacco finds Ekuban to out-jump Gabbia!

{live, 18:04, 2nd half kicks off: Milan 1-1 Genoa}

{live, 18:00, A long wait}

728 – Alessandro #Florenzi has found the net in Serie A after 728 days without scoring: his previous goal was back on 8th of May 2022 vs Verona. However, he has scored in a Serie A home match for the first time since May 2019 vs Juventus (for AS Roma). Fierce.#MilanGenoa

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) May 5, 2024

{live, 17:52, Florenzi goal}

A chance that Alessandro Florenzi just couldn't miss!

AC Milan are back level just before half-time

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/XMVQfLqbFU

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 5, 2024

{live, 17:48, Half-Time: Milan 1-1 Genoa}

Talk about on the stroke of half-time.

{live, 17:46, Milan 1-1 Genoa: Alessandro Florenzi!}

Chukwueze cross from the right finds Florenzi for a free header from four yards! He had been up there for an earlier free kick and so nobody was really marking him. It’s a Florenzi header – of course nobody was marking him!

{live, 17:42, Odd atmosphere}

It is weird being at San Siro seeing Milan keep the ball for long periods with loud jeers from the crowd, as the Genoa supporters are the only ones making noise. Reijnders is booked, more for the protest than the foul itself. Pulisic earlier had wanted a penalty, but De Winter’s arm was quite low.

{live, 17:40, Another big save!}

Corner kick finds the Theo Hernandez header, Martinez palms it off the line and Vogliacco clears for another corner. On that one, Gabbia nods over.

{live, 17:39, Martinez save!}

Better from Milan, Pulisic surges forward and his scorcher is fingertipped out from the far top corner!

{live, 17:38, Leao attack}

Leao pounces on a De Winter error, cuts inside from the left, but the scuffed finish is deflected to Martinez.

{live, 17:36, Milan misunderstanding}

Cross into the box, Giroud shapes up to volley, but Chukwueze gets something on it instead, leading his teammate to knee it into the arms of the goalkeeper.

{live, 17:34, Milan complain}

First a shove on Florenzi, then Chukwueze goes down under a nudge, referee lets it all go. Neither looked like fouls, to be fair.

{live, 17:31, That Pulisic effort}

CHRISTIAN PULISIC OFF THE POST FOR MILAN pic.twitter.com/4Ou13zsOgb

— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 5, 2024

{live, 17:29, Genoa opportunity}

Ekuban holds up the ball for Frendrup, who sweeps it first-time from outside the box, just wide of the far post!

{live, 17:26, Milan chance}

Giroud disguised pass sends Chukwueze through, Vasquez makes a decisive tackle! Corner.

{live, 17:24, Reijnders wide}

Leao back-heel flick sets up Tijjani Reijnders, but he blasts it wide from distance.

{live, 17:20, Milan swarming}

The penalty woke them up, anyway. Leao curler charged down, but it’s all Milan now.

{live, 17:17, Poor}

Pulisic free kick into the wall.

{live, 17:15, Oof}

Vasquez brings down Chukwueze, good spot for a Milan free kick.

{live, 17:14, Pulisic off the post!}

Pulisic down the left, right-foot curler smacks against the far post!

{live, 17:12, Milan try}

Cross knocked down, but Leao isn’t ready for it.

{live, 17:11, Retegui goal}

MATEO RETEGUI GIVES GENOA THE EARLY LEAD AT THE SAN SIRO pic.twitter.com/l02Y35EyCx

— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 5, 2024

{live, 17:08, Pulisic effort}

Pulisic cuts inside, shot deflected into the arms of Martinez.

{live, 17:05, Milan 0-1 Genoa: Mateo Retegui penalty!}

Gudmundsson usually takes the penalties, but Retegui sent Sportiello the wrong way and scored after a 70-day drought!

{live, 17:04, Penalty for Genoa!}

Not the ideal start for Milan! Vogliacco into the box, Tomori is clumsy and late – not for the first time this season.

{live, 17:00, We have kick-off in Milan vs. Genoa!}

{live, 16:57, Out come the teams}

Ultras stay silent here too.

Milan: Sportiello; Florenzi, Gabbia, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Reijnders, Bennacer; Chukwueze, Pulisic, Leao; Giroud

Genoa: Martinez; Vogliacco, De Winter, Vasquez; Spence, Frendrup, Badelj, Thorsby, Martin; Ekuban, Retegui

{live, 16:55, Stefano Pioli}

Stefano Pioli explains how Genoa change without Albert Gudmundsson and is sure Milan fans will suspend their protest when ‘they see the right attitude’ from players https://t.co/o8bgsBFo1L #ACMilan #SerieA #MilanGenoa #SerieATIM #Calcio

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 5, 2024

{live, 16:44, Milan fans in silent protest}

Essentially, they are sulking. Sitting in silence, no banners, no flags.

{live, 16:43, Alberto Gilardino (Genoa)}

“We had been talking for a while, there is now a verbal agreement and over the next few weeks we’ll sit down to formalise the contract, but I am very happy to give some consistency to this work,” Gilardino told DAZN.

“It is always emotional for me to return to San Siro, I spent three years at this club and won a great deal. Returning as coach of Genoa is truly extraordinary. We tried to prepare in the best way against a talented opponent with a lot of quality. Inter have been on another level to everyone else, but Milan’s statistics remain very impressive too.”

{live, 16:32, Watch the Milan-Genoa warm-ups}

Watch live on the Lega Serie A YouTube Channel.

{live, 16:25, POLL}

POLL: Who wins #ACMilan vs. #Genoa ?

Liveblog https://t.co/1eLmmq89ST#MilanGenoa #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 5, 2024

{live, 16:13, Milan vs. Genoa line-ups}

Milan: Sportiello; Florenzi, Gabbia, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Reijnders, Bennacer; Chukwueze, Pulisic, Leao; Giroud

Genoa: Martinez; Vogliacco, De Winter, Vasquez; Spence, Frendrup, Badelj, Thorsby, Martin; Ekuban, Retegui

{live, 16:05, In Serie B news}

Como are not promoted today, as they only drew 0-0 with Modena, while Venezia beat Feralpisalo’ 2-1 in stoppages.

{live, 16:01, Match report}

#Empoli 0-0 #Frosinone

Empoli saw their goal ruled offside, while Frosinone forced several saves, but the 0-0 draw does little for either team https://t.co/Z3eBZ1peEY #EmpoliFrosinone #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 5, 2024

{live, 16:00, Serie A table}

Lecce 37

Verona 34

Cagliari 33

Frosinone 32

Empoli 32

Udinese 29*

Sassuolo 29

Salernitana 15*

*game in hand

{live, 15:57, Match report}

#HellasVerona 2-1 #Fiorentina

Verona took a giant leap towards Serie A safety by pouncing on Fiorentina defensive errors with Darko Lazovic and Tijjani Noslin goals https://t.co/A8cXwqU4qI #VeronaFiorentina #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 5, 2024

{live, 15:56, FT: Verona 2-1 Fiorentina}

Wild celebrations at the Bentegodi!

{live, 15:54, FT: Empoli 0-0 Frosinone}

A point that does frankly little for either side.

{live, 15:51, VAR checking}

If that wasn’t offside… But it looks like it was.

{live, 15:50, Belotti chance!}

Fiorentina try to equalise, Kouame knocks down a long ball for Belotti, he turns in the box and might be caught, but is offside regardless.

{live, 15:48, Stoppages}

6 minutes in Verona.

{live, 15:47, Empoli off the post!}

Offside flag went up eventually, but Caputo had hit the woodwork anyway…

{live, 15:46, Frosinone attempt}

Soule effort from distance, but easy pickings for the goalkeeper.

{live, 15:45, Team news}

#ACMilan vs. #Genoa line-ups:

Samuel Chukwueze gets a rare start with Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud, as Milan try to lock down second place against a Genoa side missing Albert Gudmundsson https://t.co/kBPDhu66aV #MilanGenoa #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 5, 2024

{live, 15:44, Milan vs. Genoa line-ups}

Milan: Sportiello; Florenzi, Gabbia, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Reijnders, Bennacer; Chukwueze, Pulisic, Leao; Giroud

Genoa: Martinez; Vogliacco, De Winter, Vasquez; Spence, Frendrup, Badelj, Thorsby, Martin; Ekuban, Retegui

{live, 15:41, Oh Nzola!}

Fiorentina have to score those! Corner flicked on, falls so kindly for him and he volleys over from 12 yards!

{live, 15:39, Milan arrive at San Siro}

Pullman a San Siro: avanti tutta!

L’accoglienza dei tifosi

Federico Parolo per https://t.co/jlTDBgF49e#milangenoa #milanpress pic.twitter.com/ImDE0yPevE

— MilanPress.it (@MilanPress_it) May 5, 2024

{live, 15:34, Tension in Empoli}

Barrenechea head-to-head with Zurkowski, both of them are booked.

{live, 15:32, Fiorentina respond}

Bonaventura dribbles forward, shot charged down.

{live, 15:29, Verona chance}

Fiorentina again make a total mess of a clearance, but Lazovic and Swiderski both go for the same loose ball and collide.

{live, 15:27, Fiorentina throwing on strikers}

Beltran, Kouame, Bonaventura and Mandragora all on.

{live, 15:23, Frosinone chance}

Bit of chaos there, Brescianini stepovers, rolls across from the right, Cheddira back-heel flick blocked by Bereszynski from six yards. Appeals for handball, but he was falling onto it and blocked it with the leg first.

{live, 15:23, Empoli threaten}

Cambiaghi should do better there, but fires wide of the far post. Still 0-0.

{live, 15:20, VAR says all-clear}

Fiorentina furious, but VAR unable to find conclusive evidence that Lazovic definitely touched the ball. As we said, he tried his best.

{live, 15:18, Potential handball}

Trouble here, because Milenkovic complained that Lazovic touched the cross with his flailing arm. However, VAR is unable to confirm it did touch his arm. He certainly tried…

{live, 15:16, Verona 2-1 Fiorentina: Tijjani Noslin!}

He nearly broke the net! Chaotic move, Cross from the right beyond Lazovic, cleared by Milenkovic but not very far and Noslin smashes the rebound in off Christensen’s face!

{live, 15:14, Empoli subs}

Caputo and Maleh on, Niang and Grassi off.

{live, 15:13, Frosinone attempt}

Soule finds Cheddira with his back to goal, turns, but the scuffed finish is easy for Caprile.

{live, 15:12, Verona attack}

Swiderski cross-shot smothered by Christensen.

{live, 15:08, Not reassuring}

Frosinone goalkeeper Cerofolini not the most reassuring punch from a corner…

{live, 15:07, Empoli chance}

Marin gets down the left, cuts inside and drills just wide of the near post.

{live, 15:05, 2nd half kicks off: Empoli 0-0 Frosinone}

{live, 15:02, 2nd half kicks off: Verona 1-1 Fiorentina}

Swiderski replaces Bonazzoli.

{live, 15:00, Castrovilli is back}

His last goal was on May 14, 2023 against Udinese.

{live, 14:47, Half-Time: Empoli 0-0 Frosinone}

Gyasi had scored for the hosts, but it was ruled offside.

{live, 14:46, Half-Time: Verona 1-1 Fiorentina}

Lazovic penalty wiped out by Castrovilli.

{live, 14:43, Frosinone again}

Cheddira again, this is a much tougher save from Caprile on his powerful curler!

{live, 14:41, Verona 1-1 Fiorentina: Gaetano Castrovilli!}

A great goal for the man who was out for the best part of a year with several knee operations! Nzola rolls it across, Castrovilli rides a tackle to go down the left and smashes a left-foot angled drive into the net!

{live, 14:41, Frosinone effort}

Cheddira cuts inside and shoots, well smothered.

{live, 14:36, Verona chance}

Well-worked down the right, pulled back by Lazovic, but Bonazzoli side-foots it straight into the arms of Christensen.

{live, 14:34, Ikone threatens}

Ikone pace causing a few problems for Verona, Montipo’ has to come rushing out.

{live, 14:28, Fiorentina off the woodwork!}

Castrovilli with a lovely bit of footwork to get the space and then bends a low strike from distance that thumps the base of the upright!

{live, 14:26, Fiorentina tradition}

The classic Viola tradition of keeping the ball for long periods without really doing much.

{live, 14:22, DISALLOWED}

Gyasi was offside when the shot was parried into his path.

{live, 14:20, Empoli 1-0 Frosinone: Emmanuel Gyasi!}

That’s a big goal! Free kick from Marin hits the wall, his second attempt is charged down too, Marin floats it over the top, general chaos, shot parried into the path of Gyasi. But…

{live, 14:16, Empoli push}

Save on Niang, but the offside flag was up eventually.

{live, 14:16, Fiorentina react}

Ikone dribbles to the by-line, pulls back and Barak can’t get control of that.

{live, 14:14, Almost 2-0!}

Chance for Verona to double their lead, counter-attack and cross from the right, Bonazzoli comes sliding in and turns wide!

{live, 14:13, Verona 1-0 Fiorentina: Darko Lazovic pen!}

Smashed into the roof of the net!

{live, 14:11, Penalty for Verona!}

What a MESS. Long ball, Christensen and Ranieri both assume the other has got it under control, neither of them do, the goalkeeper then brings down Noslin. That was Christensen’s fault…

{live, 14:10, Fiorentina chance}

Nzola flagged offside eventually, but had seen his shot saved one-on-one by Montipo’ anyway.

{live, 14:06, Frosinone chance!}

Ball cleared to the edge of the area, Mazzitelli scorcher fingertipped over the bar by Caprile!

{live, 14:00, We have kick-off!}

{live, 13:37, Verona vs. Fiorentina line-ups}

Verona: Montipò; Centonze, Magnani, Coppola, Vinagre; Folorunsho, Serdar, Duda, Lazovic; Bonazzoli, Noslin

Fiorentina: Christensen; Faraoni, Milenkovic, Ranieri, Parisi; Maxime Lopez, Duncan; Ikone, Barak, Castrovilli; Nzola

{live, 13:37, Empoli vs. Frosinone line-ups}

Empoli: Caprile; Bereszynski, Ismajli, Luperto; Gyasi, Martin, Grassi, Pezzella; Fazzini, Cambiaghi; Niang

Frosinone: Cerofolini; Lirola, Romagnoli, Okoli; Zortea, Mazzitelli, Barrenechea, Valeri; Soule, Brescianini; Cheddira

{live, 13:28, Serie A Table}

Lecce 37

Cagliari 33

Verona 31*

Frosinone 31*

Empoli 31*

Udinese 29*

Sassuolo 29

Salernitana 15*

*game in hand

{live, 13:27, Match report}

#Cagliari 1-1 #Lecce

Lecce finally wore down 10-man Cagliari with Nikola Krstovic cancelling out the Yerry Mina opener in this potentially decisive relegation dogfight https://t.co/69e2igJziT #CagliariLecce #SerieA #Calcio #SerieATIM

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 5, 2024

{live, 13:25, FT: Cagliari 1-1 Lecce}

The Salentini are almost safe now, but Cagliari are back in real trouble…

{live, 13:19, Stoppages}

At least 6 minutes. Meanwhile, Obert replaces Nandez.

{live, 13:17, SIEGE}

Scuffet has to make a double save, first on the Blin scorcher, then the Gendrey follow-up!

{live, 13:16, Lecce hit the post again!}

The 10 men of Cagliari are hanging on for dear life here! Sansone this time with a header off the far post!

{live, 13:14, Lecce off the woodwork!}

It’s not over yet, folks! Lecce denied by the frame of the goal as a Baschirotto header thumps the upright!

{live, 13:13, That could be a huge goal}

Lecce are on the verge of securing Serie A safety, while Cagliari could be right back in danger. But it’s not over, Lecce are pushing and earn a corner.

{live, 13:12, Cagliari 1-1 Lecce: Nikola Krstovic!}

Almqvist gets down the right, flashes it across the face of goal and Krstovic reacts quicker than his marker to tap in at the back post! He got in front of Nandez.

{live, 13:05, Cagliari sub}

Azzi on for Augello. Yerry Mina keeps going down with cramp that he suspiciously recovers from very quickly.

{live, 13:04, Empoli vs. Frosinone line-ups}

Empoli: Caprile; Bereszynski, Ismajli, Luperto; Gyasi, Martin, Grassi, Pezzella; Fazzini, Cambiaghi; Niang

Frosinone: Cerofolini; Lirola, Romagnoli, Okoli; Zortea, Mazzitelli, Barrenechea, Valeri; Soule, Brescianini; Cheddira

{live, 13:02, Scuffle breaking out}

Cagliari put it out for a corner, some tension on the touchline, Baschirotto and Nandez booked for the consequent scuffle.

{live, 13:01, Verona vs. Fiorentina line-ups}

Verona: Montipò; Centonze, Magnani, Coppola, Vinagre; Folorunsho, Serdar, Duda, Lazovic; Bonazzoli, Noslin

Fiorentina: Christensen; Faraoni, Milenkovic, Ranieri, Parisi; Maxime Lopez, Duncan; Ikone, Barak, Castrovilli; Nzola

{live, 12:59, Lecce subs}

Rafia and Almqvist on, Ramadani and Oudin off.

{live, 12:55, Cagliari sub}

Shomurodov on, Luvumbo off.

{live, 12:53, Save on Pierotti}

Scuffet has to push a Pierotti header out from under the bar following the Gallo cross.

{live, 12:51, Lecce chance!}

Oh that was close! After a corner, Oudin thumps it so well on the volley, but it flashes across the face of goal and beyond his teammates! Scuffet booked for time-wasting. It’s the 63rd minute.

{live, 12:47, Lecce sub}

Pierotti on, Dorgu off

{live, 12:45, Cagliari chance}

Dossena header from a corner straight at Falcone.

{live, 12:44, Yellows}

Ramadani and Sansone booked, earning sarcastic cheers from the Cagliari fans.

{live, 12:41, Yerry Mina things}

Yerry Mina was talking to the ball boys earlier, clearly telling them to slow down putting it back into play. Then he goes down for no reason clutching his stomach, calls for help, then gets annoyed when the medical staff come on and he needs to go off. This game is his wheelhouse.

{live, 12:40, Siege mode}

Cagliari camped out in their own final third, except for Luvumbo, who runs onto a long ball and goes down too easily under a Pongracic nudge.

{live, 12:32, 2nd half kicks off: Cagliari 1-0 Lecce}

Lots of changes.

Wieteska and Sulemana on for Cagliari, Lapadula and Zappa off.

Sansone on, Piccoli off for Lecce.

{live, 12:18, Half-Time: Cagliari 1-0 Lecce}

Everyone needs a cold shower and to calm down a bit.

{live, 12:15, Tension escalating}

Ramadani foul, the crowd calls for a yellow, then the referee sends off someone from the Cagliari bench, a member of Ranieri’s staff. During the VAR review, Ranieri was also booked.

{live, 12:13, RED CARD}

Gianluca Gaetano yellow card switched for a red! It was pretty high… Cagliari are leading 1-0, but down to 10 men.

{live, 12:12, VAR!}

Trouble for Gaetano! It was indeed high and it was indeed studs-up. But was the leg fully flexed? Marcenaro is viewing it.

{live, 12:11, Yellow card}

Gaetano booked for going in late and studs up on Ramadani.

{live, 12:06, Speaking of risky}

Piccoli, already booked for a foul on Mina, catches the defender again and complains vocally. Bet on him getting substituted at half-time.

{live, 12:04, Risky}

Oudin free kick deflected over by Deiola, risking an own goal. Following corner was terrible…

{live, 12:03, Hmm….}

Free kick awarded for foul on Gendrey, right on the outside edge of the area. That was awfully close to the line. A few centimetres and that was a penalty.

{live, 12:02, Lecce trying}

Lecce trying to find a way through the middle, but are struggling to get crosses in.

{live, 11:55, Cagliari 1-0 Lecce: Yerry Mina!}

That one has to count! Corner kick cleared as far as Gaetano outside the box, his shot is wayward, but turns into an accidental assist for Mina to side-foot in from close range! He’s oddly surrounded by 6 Lecce players, but none of them react… Mina goes to the touchline to hug Ranieri.

{live, 11:53, Oof}

Scuffet comes screaming out of his area and uses his chest to clear a long ball, until Piccoli crashes into him.

{live, 11:49, Explained}

When making that tackle on the edge of the area, Deiola had his hand on the ground and the ball struck it, therefore remaining near his foot.

{live, 11:47, DISALLOWED}

Disallowed for handball!

{live, 11:46, Cagliari 1-0 Lecce: Alessandro Deiola!}

Lecce ought to get it clear, but Deiola wins it back from Pongracic and his shot from the edge of the box takes a big deflection to wrong-foot Falcone! But who was it deflected off?

{live, 11:43, Piccoli booked}

Lecce striker late into the back of Yerry Mina, so he will be suspended against Udinese.

{live, 11:43, Lecce over}

Oudin corner nodded over the bar.

{live, 11:39, Lapadula acrobatic}

Luvumbo on the counter, whips in a cross, Lapadula attempts an acrobatic overhead kick and that would’ve been spectacular… He got it on target, but straight at the goalkeeper.

{live, 11:32, That Cagliari jersey}

Special edition marking the revolt of April 1794.

In occasione di “Sa die de sa Sardigna” il Cagliari Calcio ricorda gli avvenimenti della “Sarda Rivolutzione” presentando la Maglia Gara Special Edition realizzata dallo sponsor tecnico @EyeSportWear.

Clicca sul link per tutti i dettagli https://t.co/sG6O7DxvzI pic.twitter.com/YUchcakdNG

— Cagliari Calcio (@CagliariCalcio) April 28, 2024

{live, 11:30, We have kick-off in Cagliari vs. Lecce!}

Cagliari: Scuffet; Zappa, Mina, Dossena, Augello; Makoumbou, Deiola, Nandez; Gaetano, Luvumbo; Lapadula

Lecce: Falcone; Gendrey, Pongracic, Baschirotto, Gallo; Oudin, Ramadani, Blin, Dorgu; Piccoli, Krstovic

{live, 11:26, Out come the teams in Sardinia}

Beautiful day!

{live, 11:23, Team news for Milan-Genoa}

Albert Gudmundsson is out with flu symptoms.

{live, 11:13, Luca Gotti (Lecce)}

“It’s a 4-4-2 in our own way, suited to the players we have on the field and their characteristics. We know these are two teams who started in August with the ambition of securing safety and both are looking for important, potentially decisive points. We filled the away section with our fans, despite logistical problems and frankly expense to get here, so it’s wonderful to underline their commitment.”

{live, 11:09, Claudio Ranieri (Cagliari)}

“Genoa deserved their victory, we tipped our hats to them. Lecce are on the verge of safety, I think 36-37 points will be enough for safety, but we need to battle and win. Yerry Mina and Dossena are not at 100 per cent, but we need them and they will have a good game. I expect the usual determined, solid, gritty Lecce and we will try to do our best.”

{live, 10:59, Warming up}

In campo per il riscaldamento #CagliariLecce pic.twitter.com/NhHV30ZVSW

— Cagliari Calcio (@CagliariCalcio) May 5, 2024

{live, 10:48, Serie A table}

Lecce 36*

Cagliari 32*

Verona 31*

Frosinone 31*

Empoli 31*

Udinese 29*

Sassuolo 29

Salernitana 15*

*game in hand

{live, 10:44, Team news}

Nicolas Viola, Leonardo Pavoletti, Jakub Jankto and Marco Mancosu miss out, but Yerry Mina and Alberto Dossena return.

The visitors are without Lameck Banda, Mohamed Kaba and Kastriot Dermaku, but Ylber Ramadani is back.

{live, 10:22, Cagliari vs. Lecce line-ups}

Cagliari: Scuffet; Zappa, Mina, Dossena, Augello; Makoumbou, Deiola, Nandez; Gaetano, Luvumbo; Lapadula

Lecce: Falcone; Gendrey, Pongracic, Baschirotto, Gallo; Oudin, Ramadani, Blin, Dorgu; Piccoli, Krstovic

Serie A Super Sunday

Join us for all the build-up and action from today’s five Serie A games, Cagliari-Lecce, Empoli-Frosinone, Verona-Fiorentina, Milan-Genoa and a massive Roma-Juventus.

Sassuolo’s 1-0 win over Inter really shook up the fight to stay in the top flight.

We begin at 11.30 UK time (10.30 GMT) with a relegation dogfight, as Cagliari and Lecce hope to break away from the drop zone.

At 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT), Empoli-Frosinone is another crucial tussle, while Verona host Fiorentina.

Milan take on already safe Genoa at San Siro amid fan protests at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT).

Finally, a win at the Olimpico at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT) would guarantee Champions League football for Juventus, but Roma can close up on Bologna and the Bianconeri instead.

Lecce and Verona took big steps towards Serie A safety today, but Sassuolo’s 1-0 win over Inter brings Cagliari, Empoli and Frosinone back into danger.

There are three more rounds to play after this weekend is completed and the fight to avoid dropping into Serie B is hotting up all the time.

Lecce were already feeling confident, but the 1-1 draw away to 10-man Cagliari helped consolidate their advantage over the chasing pack.

The biggest result was Verona seeing off Fiorentina 2-1 at the Stadio Bentegodi with a Darko Lazovic penalty and Tijjani Noslin strike.

That propelled them ahead of Cagliari on 34 points into 14^th place, leaving the Sardinians behind on 33.

Empoli and Frosinone shared the spoils in a goalless draw and therefore remain locked together on 32 points in 16^th and 17^th place respectively.

Sassuolo had looked doomed, but Saturday’s surprise 1-0 win over Champions of Italy Inter has seen them catch Udinese on 29 points.

If Udinese manage to beat struggling Napoli at the Bluenergy Stadium on Monday evening, then they will climb up to 32 points, level with Empoli and Frosinone.

Serie A relegation run-in

The Serie A run-ins are tough too, as next week there is Frosinone-Inter, Milan-Cagliari, Lazio-Empoli, Genoa-Sassuolo, Verona-Torino and Lecce-Udinese.

In Serie A Week 37 there’s Lecce-Atalanta, Monza-Frosinone, Salernitana-Verona, Sassuolo-Cagliari and a massive Udinese-Empoli.

The final round has Cagliari-Fiorentina, Empoli-Roma, Frosinone-Udinese, Verona-Inter, Lazio-Sassuolo and Napoli-Lecce.

Empoli saw their goal ruled offside, while Frosinone forced several saves, but the 0-0 draw does little for either team.

This was a massive fixture, as both teams were locked together on 31 points along with Verona, just two clear of the drop zone. The hosts missed Sebastian Walukiewicz, Alberto Cerri, Tyronne Ebuehi and Etrit Berisha. The Canarini were without Stefano Turati, Anthony Oyono, Mateus Lusuardi and Sergio Kalaj, plus Caleb Okoli struggling with a knee problem.

See how the games unfolded on the Liveblog.

Elia Caprile fingertipped a Luca Mazzitelli scorcher over the bar in the opening minutes, while Empoli had the ball in the net on 20 minutes when Emmanuel Gyasi fired in the rebound from a parried Alberto Grassi shot, but he was in an offside position.

Walid Cheddira twice tested Caprile from the edge of the area, one with a low drive, a tougher save on his powerful curler.

Razvan Marin drilled just wide of the near post with a deflection, while Bartosz Bereszynski made a decisive block on Cheddira’s back-heel flick from six yards, set up by Marco Brescianini.

Ciccio Caputo fired onto the frame of the goal from close range in the final minutes, but his blushes were spared by the offside flag.

Empoli 0-0 Frosinone

05-05-2024 14:00

MatchDay 35

Stadio Comunale Carlo Castellani

Empoli

Frosinone

0 - 0

Player statistic

1st half

18'

Caleb Okoli

2nd half

		60'		Emanuele Valeri
Youssef Maleh		68'
Szymon Zurkowski		74'
		74'		Enzo Barrenechea

Match statistic

47

Possession %

53

7

Total shots

17

1

Shots on target

5

2

Shots off target

8

4

Blocked shots

4

3

Corners

8

5

Offsides

1

15

Fouls

11

Empoli

Frosinone

Starting lineups

25

Elia Caprile

Goalkeeper

34

Ardian Ismajli

Defender

19

Bartosz Bereszynski

Defender

3

Giuseppe Pezzella

Defender

84'

33

Sebastiano Luperto

Defender

5

Alberto Grassi

Midfielder

55'

21

Jacopo Fazzini

Midfielder

71'

18

Razvan Marin

Midfielder

11

Emmanuel Gyasi

Attacker

10

M’Baye Niang

Attacker

55'

28

Nicolò Cambiaghi

Attacker

71'

31

Michele Cerofolini

Goalkeeper

5

Caleb Okoli

Defender

32

Emanuele Valeri

Defender

19

Nadir Zortea

Defender

20

Pol Lirola

Defender

6

Simone Romagnoli

Defender

73'

45

Enzo Barrenechea

Midfielder

36

Luca Mazzitelli

Midfielder

4

Marco Brescianini

Midfielder

85'

18

Matìas Soulé

Attacker

90'

70

Walid Cheddira

Attacker

73'

Substitutes

23

Mattia Destro

Attacker

8

Viktor Kovalenko

Midfielder

30

Simone Bastoni

Midfielder

1

Samuele Perisan

Goalkeeper

7

Stiven Shpendi

Attacker

2

Saba Goglichidze

Defender

40

Filippo Vertua

Goalkeeper

29

Youssef Maleh

Midfielder

55'

9

Francesco Caputo

Attacker

55'

27

Szymon Zurkowski

Midfielder

71'

20

Matteo Cancellieri

Attacker

71'

13

Liberato Cacace

Defender

84'

3

Riccardo Marchizza

Defender

8

Demba Seck

Attacker

9

Kaio Jorge

Attacker

21

Abdou Harroui

Midfielder

16

Luca Garritano

Midfielder

7

Jaime Báez

Attacker

10

Giuseppe Caso

Attacker

26

Soufiane Bidaoui

Attacker

1

Pierluigi Frattali

Goalkeeper

12

Reinier

Midfielder

13

Matjaz Kamensek-Pahic

Defender

17

Giorgi Kvernadze

Attacker

33

Kevin Bonifazi

Defender

73'

11

Marvin Cuni

Attacker

73'

14

Francesco Gelli

Midfielder

85'

27

Arijon Ibrahimovic

Attacker

90'

Check the official line-ups for this afternoon’s Serie A games, as Empoli-Frosinone is a massive relegation dogfight and Verona host Conference League semi-finalists Fiorentina.

They both kick off at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from all five of today’s Serie A matches in the LIVEBLOG.

Empoli, Frosinone and Verona all go into the weekend stuck together on 31 points, just two clear of the relegation zone.

Empoli-Frosinone

Empoli: Caprile; Bereszynski, Ismajli, Luperto; Gyasi, Martin, Grassi, Pezzella; Fazzini, Cambiaghi; Niang

Frosinone: Cerofolini; Lirola, Romagnoli, Okoli; Zortea, Mazzitelli, Barrenechea, Valeri; Soule, Brescianini; Cheddira

Verona-Fiorentina

Verona: Montipò; Centonze, Magnani, Coppola, Vinagre; Folorunsho, Serdar, Duda, Lazovic; Bonazzoli, Noslin

Fiorentina: Christensen; Faraoni, Milenkovic, Ranieri, Parisi; Maxime Lopez, Duncan; Ikone, Barak, Castrovilli; Nzola

Check out the probable line-ups for Sunday’s Serie A fixtures, including Fiorentina’s trip to Verona and Milan’s visit from Genoa.

The day’s action begins with Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari, who will host Lecce at 11.30 BST, before Empoli-Frosinone and Verona-Fiorentina at 14.00. Milan will host Genoa at 17.00, and then comes the headline fixture between Roma and Juventus at 19.45

Serie A probable line-ups

Cagliari vs. Lecce (11.30 BST)

Cagliari (4-3-3): Scuffet; Nandez, Hatzidiakos, Dossena, Augello; Gaetano, Makoumbou, Sulemana, Luvumbo, Lapadula, Shomurodov.

Lecce (4-2-2): Falcone; Gendrey, Baschirotto, Pongracic, Gallo; Oudin, Ramadani, Blin, Dorgu; Piccolo, Krstovic.

Empoli vs. Frosinone (14.00)

Empoli (3-4-2-1): Caprile; Bereszynski, Luperto, Pezzella; Gyasi, Grassi, Maleh, Cacace; Fazzini, Cambiaghi; Niang.

Frosinone (3-5-2): Cerofolini; Lirola, Romagnoli, Okoli; Zortea, Mazzitelli, Barrenechea, Brescianini, Valerie; Soule, Cheddira.

Hellas Verona vs. Fiorentina (14.00)

Verona (4-3-3): Montipo; Tchatchoua, Coppola, Magnani, Vinagre; Serdar, Duda, Folorunsho; Noslin, Bonazzoli, Lazovic.

Fiorentina (4-2-3-1): Christensen; Faraoni, Milenkovic, Martinez Quatra, Parisi; Duncan, Lopez; Ikone, Barak, Kouame; Belotti.

Milan vs. Genoa (17.00)

Milan (4-2-3-1): Sportiello; Florenzi, Thiaw, Gambia, Theo Hernandez; Bennacer, Reijnders; Chukwueze, Pulisic, Leao; Giroud.

Genoa (3-4-1-2): Martinez; Vogliacco, De Winter, Vasquez, Sabelli, Frendrup, Bedalj, Thorsby Martin; Gudmundsson, Retegui.

There are now seven teams battling to avoid being the other two relegated to Serie B along with Salernitana, so we look at their remaining four fixtures.

The Week 34 results shook up the race to stay in Serie A, as Genoa mathematically guaranteed another campaign in the top flight on 42 points.

Lecce are almost there too on 36 following a 1-1 draw with Monza, but Cagliari’s 3-0 loss to Genoa saw their cushion from the relegation zone reduced from four points to just three.

It’s a huge tussle for position with Verona, Frosinone and Empoli all crammed together on 31 points apiece, one behind Cagliari.

The relegation zone begins with Udinese on 29 points, then Sassuolo are in real trouble on 26 and have a very difficult run-in.

Salernitana are rock bottom on 15 and already doomed to the drop.

There are four rounds left to play and Sassuolo have arguably the toughest run-in, but there are still several head-to-head clashes that could prove decisive.

Serie A relegation run-ins

Lecce

Cagliari (A)

Udinese (H)

Atalanta (H)

Napoli (A)

Cagliari

Lecce (H)

Milan (A)

Sassuolo (A)

Fiorentina (H)

Verona

Fiorentina (H)

Torino (H)

Salernitana (A)

Inter (H)

Frosinone

Empoli (A)

Inter (H)

Monza (A)

Udinese (H)

Empoli

Frosinone (H)

Lazio (A)

Udinese (A)

Roma (H)

Udinese

Napoli (H)

Lecce (A)

Empoli (H)

Frosinone (A)

Sassuolo

Inter (H)

Genoa (A)

Cagliari (H)

Lazio (A)

The Lega Serie A has confirmed the kick-off dates and times for the Week 36 games, rejecting Roma’s appeal to move the Atalanta clash to Monday.

The Giallorossi had already protested last week that they were being given no help to represent Italy in the Europa League semi-final against Bayer Leverkusen on May 2 and 9.

They asked to have the showdown for fifth place with Atalanta switched to Monday May 13, but that would’ve meant shifting the Coppa Italia Final between Juventus and Atalanta from its May 15 slot.

The appeal was rejected and the Serie A clash will be played on Sunday May 12, at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).

Atalanta are also in the Europa League semi-finals against Olympique Marseille on May 2 and 9, so moving the Coppa Italia Final may well have suited them too.

The following kick-off times are UK (GMT+1).

Serie A Week 36

Friday May 10

Frosinone-Inter (19.45)

Saturday May 11

Napoli–Bologna (17.00)

Milan–Cagliari (19.45)

Sunday May 12

Lazio–Empoli (11.30)

Genoa–Sassuolo (14.00)

Verona–Torino (14.00)

Juventus-Salernitana (17.00)

Atalanta-Roma (19.45)

Monday May 13

Lecce-Udinese (17.30)

Fiorentina-Monza (19.45)