Having struggled in their last Serie A outing against Palermo a week ago, the first half of Sunday’s visit to Empoli appeared to be heading much the same way. For the opening 45 minutes at the Stadio Carlo Castellani, the Old Lady were clearly in control but could not find a way past Lukasz Skorupski.
Their own defence held firm, however, and they eventually took the lead after Alex Sandro—who otherwise endured a poor outing—rolled the ball across the box to Dybala. The Argentina international took one touch before launching a powerful shot into the roof of the net, wheeling away in sheer delight at bagging his first league goal of the campaign.
It was a strike that broke the spirit of Giovanni Martusciello’s Empoli, with Juventus then completely dominating and one man in particular coming to the fore. Following Dybala’s 65th-minute opener, Gonzalo Higuain put on a master class of attacking prowess that ended this tie in abrupt and emphatic fashion.
