Milan, February 27 (BNA): Dusan Vlahovic scored two goals to lead the injured Juventus to a 3-2 victory over Empoli, moving seven points away from Italian league leaders AC Milan.
Vlahovic scored his first goal in the first half after Simon Surkovsky canceled Moise Kean’s opening match for Juventus, The Associated Press reported.
The 22-year-old doubled his tally and appeared to have sealed the score in the 66th minute before substitute Andrea La Mantilla’s goal from Empoli led to a tense finish.
Vlahovic will return to Fiorentina on Wednesday – in the Italian Cup semi-finals – for the first time since his sharp departure last month.
“My feelings are a bit mixed, I don’t know what to say, we’re going to go there to play,” he said. “I thank Fiorentina from the bottom of my heart, I had wonderful years there and they will always be a part of me.”
The result saw Juventus snatch three consecutive 1-1 draws, while Empoli extended their winning streak to 10.
Juventus knew a win would put them back in the title race after Inter Milan and Milan drew on Friday.
But coach Massimiliano Allegri was without a number of key players, with Weston McKinney and Alex Sandro added to the long list of injuries.
All Serie A matches start five minutes late this weekend with a message of peace after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Juventus had several chances to advance before eventually breaking the tie in the 32nd minute when Adrien Rabiot hit a cross from the left and Kane headed a header into the back post.
But the Bianconeri were dealt a double blow soon after as Denis Zakaria exited with an apparent injury to his left thigh and moments later Empoli equalized when Żurkowski managed to push the ball inside after shoving into the net after a corner kick.
However, Juventus equalized in injury time in the first half when Juan Cuadrado passed the ball to Vlahovic, who dominated before firing into the net.
It was Vlahovic’s third goal since joining Juventus and he added another in the second half as he finished off a counter-attack by lifting the ball over Empoli goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario after being sent by Alvaro Morata.
Juventus seemed headed for an almost certain victory, but 10 minutes later, Leonardo Bonucci hit a free kick straight from the underside of the crossbar. With the move going, La Mantia managed to press the ball between Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and the post.
Inspirational alternatives
New coach Davide Nicola’s changes had an immediate impact as they helped bottom-place Salernitana to a 1-1 draw at home to Bologna.
This is the second tie for Nicolas in such matches, after he led his team to a 2-2 draw against Milan, the leaders of the Italian Serie A, in his first match after replacing Stefano Colantono.
Marko Arnautovic headed Bologna in front shortly before the end of the first half, but Nicolas made a three-way substitution in the 71st minute and seconds later Nader Zorte equalized.
Nicola Sansoni hit the crossbar for Bologna in the last minute, but Salernitana took a seven-point lead from safety.
Also, Fiorentina failed to keep up the pressure on the top four as they lost 2-1 to Sassuolo after a strong finish.
Hamed Traore scored the first goal and hit the crossbar in the first half.
Fiorentina’s hopes of getting something out of the match appeared to be dashed when midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura was sent off 10 minutes before the end of the match, after receiving a second yellow card for something he said to the referee after being booked for a foul.
But fellow substitute Arthur Cabral slipped to equalize two minutes from time and appeared to snatch a point for Fiorentina before Grégoire Devril’s stoppage-time goal.
Fiorentina is eight points behind Juventus and the last place in the Champions League.