At San Siro, Milan struggled to find net against Empoli despite trying hard. Empoli comfortably kept Milan from scoring any goals.
Pioli made five changes to his Milan starting lineup as Thiaw, Saelemaekers, Pobega, Rebic, and Origi all start. Zanetti made just one change as Fazzini replaced the injured Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro in the starting 11.
Saelemaekers put Rebic through on goal, and he had a great opportunity to score, but his shot was blocked by Perisan. The forward dropped a huge opportunity. Empoli took a very direct approach and nearly scored. After receiving a lofted pass, Piccoli flicked the ball onto Caputo, who was unable to control it inside the penalty area.
On the left wing, Saelemaekers drew a good foul. Moments earlier, the midfielder had a good chance to cross the ball into the crowded box but was unable to do so due to a lack of space. Tonali attempted to find a teammate with his cross from the free kick, but Empoli was able to recover possession of the ball.
Although Hernandez misread Saelemaekers’ intentions, the Belgian passed behind the left-back after combining well with two of his teammates. Origi was too preoccupied with protecting his defender from the pass to receive the brilliant cutback from Saelemakers, who had just entered the box.
Tonali attempted to score from close range with a curling shot, but Perisan quickly dived in and stopped the ball. Hernandez exchanged passes with Rebic before attempting to cross the ball, but his pass was poor and deflected behind for a goal kick.
Three Empoli players closed down the striker to prevent Origi from flicking the ball past Perisan after Rebic drilled the ball into six-yard box.
From a free-kick on the left wing, Marin sent in a looping cross, but Maignan was able to catch it because it was too deep. Following a poor pass from Florenzi, Empoli had a fantastic opportunity to advance, but Grassi’s initial pass was intercepted by the Milan defender.
Tonali executed a superb tackle to prevent Cambiaghi from delivering a cross. Milan then moved up the opposite side to launch an attack, but their final cross was terrible. Leao attempted to score from Florenzi’s cross with a bicycle kick. Although he made a good connection with the ball, there were too many defenders in his way of the goal.
After beating Perisan with a volley towards the near post, Florenzi struck the post. Now, Milan was making every effort to score against Empoli. Fewer players were running on the counterattack, giving Milan a very fatigued appearance. They were being caught up by their earlier pressing and sprinting.
Luperto entered the block before Saelemaekers could drive into the box and shoot. Giroud was offside when his rebound went out for a corner. Pobega successfully claimed the header in the box after Florenzi’s cross, but his effort missed the goal.
Perisan pulled off an outstanding save to prevent Diaz from scoring. Giroud received the ball from Hernandez and flicked it to Diaz. The midfielder evaded a defender and took a shot, but Perisan made a critical save.
Empoli was making an effort to maintain a higher line and avoid dipping too low and inviting pressure. Empoli was breaking up the play with fouls all over the field, which was making Milan more and more frustrated.
When the ball fell to Florenzi in the penalty area, he decided to shoot rather than pass it to his teammates. He made the incorrect decision, completely scuffing his volley. Tonali attempted one final cross, but Thiaw’s header hit the goal ceiling. That was the game’s last opportunity.
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