TERRACCIANO, 5: delays the release which would have allowed him, at least, to give Ekong a little less of a spotlight. Reactive in lifting Esposito's shot over the crossbar. He was not to blame for the 2-2 goal, but unfortunately he was invisible in the penalty shootout.
DODO, 6: he sprints, sprints and sprints again, demonstrating the amazing condition he is in. He misses a couple of crosses, he also puts two perfect ones on Kean's head which the Viola attacker incredibly fails to materialise.
RANIERI, 5.5: some good coverage in the first half, careful in general also in the second half. However, his penalty is unwatchable and, unfortunately, weighs a lot.
COMUZZO, 6: between the two central defenders he is the most stressed, he always puts his leg there and with the usual determination. Esposito is lost on the goal, but the Empoli striker deserves more credit.
GOSENS, 5.5: not his best game, with many measurement errors both in setting up and when he crosses. He gets his back, in a decisive but fortuitous way, on Sottil's goal. He ends his game with a sacrosanct yellow after a foul late in the game. (74' PARISI, ST)
CATALDI, 5.5: he always tries to get the ball and set up the action, but he rarely succeeds in making the final pass. Discovering the ball in your own midfield is an unforgivable mistake that costs Empoli the 2-2. Perfect but useless penalty.
MARTINEZ QUARTA, 4: he falls asleep and misses the tackle that gave Empoli the advantage. Slow, disoriented, simply out of context. Failed experiment. (51’ RICHARDSON, 6.5: enters well and makes a fine play, in the narrow, decisive for the goal of the momentary 1-1).
COLPANI, 4: he simply misses every ball he touches. Worrying condition, as from the beginning of the season to today with the only (and clearly not sufficient) parenthesis in Lecce. (51' ICONS', 6: he comes in well and the understanding with Dodo works, but when he gets the right ball he wastes it. However, less worse than many other times).
BELTRAN, 5.5: Seghetti denies him the goal with a super reflex. Good finishing work but often imprecise in the last step, and tonight his usual self-sacrifice is not enough, (74' GUDMUNDSSON, 6: gets Pezzella booked with a sumptuous play on the first dribble. Very cold from the spot. Seeing him back on the pitch is the best news.)
THIN, 6.5: inspired in the first minutes, in the long run it provokes Marianucci's mystery. His shot commits Seghetti before Kean's tap in. Then he goes on his own and scores the momentary overtaking goal thanks to Gosens' deflection. (82' KOUAME, 6: vote relative in fact only to the penalty he shoots, objectively, admirably).
KEAN, 5.5: Dodo gives him two balls just to push in, one hits the crossbar and the other is blocked by Seghetti. At 1-1 he was in the right place at the right time, but penalties are not his strong point and he proved it in the final lottery. His mistake was decisive for Fiorentina's elimination and lowered the score below a pass mark.
PALLADINO, 5: psychologically a very difficult match to prepare for, and proposing most of the starters to get them back on track immediately could have been an acceptable choice. Less so was sending Terracciano onto the pitch, when the Italian Cup could have been the right scenario to test Martinelli (or, if the intention was to move forward, to rely on De Gea). The Martinez Quarta experiment can be officially declared a failure. Why does Ranieri have to take penalties?
