Lecce fought back to earn a 1-1 draw at home to Empoli in Serie A on Friday evening, as Santiago Pierotti cancelled out Pietro Pellegri’s first-half opener at the Stadio Va del Mare.
Lecce came into Friday night’s affair ranked last in the Serie A table after picking up eight points from their opening 11 matches of the season, while Empoli were in 12th with six points more than their hosts.
Nikola Krstovic was selected to lead the line by Luca Gotti, while Roberto D’Aversa, in his preferred 3-5-2 went with Lorenzo Colombo and Pellegri, who scored his first goal for Empoli against Como last time out.
Pellegri rewarded his coach’s decision by opening the scoring after 33 minutes with another unstoppable effort , firing into the bottom corner of the net past Wladimiro Falcone from the edge of the area.
He celebrated his second goal in as many games with Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres’s trademark celebration.
Krstovic almost got Lecce back into it with a goalbound header from Patrick Dorgu’s enticing cross.
Libero Cacace then almost double the Empoli lead with a well-hit effort that required a strong hand to tip it onto the post.
Pierotti started and finished the move that got Lecce back into it. He timed his run into the area to perfection to get onto the end of Antonio Gallo’s cross to head past Denis Vasquez.
Nicola Sansone also struck the frame of the goal from a decent free-kick from 25 yards out. The woodwork was rattled again shortly afterwards, Krstovic’s header struck the bar from a Lecce corner.
Friday evening’s result temporarily lifts both teams two places up from their positions at the beginning of the evening. Lecce are still in the relegation zone, albeit in 18th, while Empoli have temporarily crept into the top half of the Serie A table, now in 10th. Both positions are likely to change by the end of the weekend.
Full-time: Lecce 1-1 Empoli
Pellegri (E) 33’, Pierotti 77’ (L).
