Arkadiusz Milik sent off as Juventus held to home draw to struggling Empoli

Ten-man Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at home to struggling Empoli after losing Arkadiusz Milik to an early red card.

The Serie A leaders were a man down before the midway point of the first half when Milik, who had hit a hat-trick on his last start in a 4-0 Coppa Italia win over Frosinone two weeks ago, was sent off following a VAR review for a late studs-up challenge.

Dusan Vlahovic fired Juventus in front with his fifth goal in three games at the start of the second half, but Tommaso Baldanzi equalised for Empoli as the hosts’ seven-match winning run in all competitions came to an end.

FT | | A draw to close out the month #JuveEmpoli pic.twitter.com/3nN9fcgqzu

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) January 27, 2024

Juventus went close after only six minutes as Vlahovic, who had scored a brace in each of his side’s last two games, forced Elia Caprile to tip his free-kick around a post.

But they were stunned after 18 minutes when his fellow striker Milik was sent off.

The Poland international was initially booked after appearing to catch Alberto Cerri high on the ankle with his studs when he slid in for a challenge, but the yellow was upgraded to red following a review.

Juventus were happy to sit back now they were a man down and Nicolo Cambiaghi saw a deflected effort saved by Wojciech Szczesny, who also comfortably dealt with Emmanuel Gyasi’s header.

Juventus’ Arkadiusz Milik received a straight red card for this challenge after a VAR review