Roma continue rolling in Serie A as Claudio Ranieri’s appointment continues to prove its importance in putting the team back together after a disappointing start to the season.
The veteran technician was once again on the touchline for Roma tonight, as the Giallorossi beat Empoli 1-0 at the Castellani.
Despite the victory being a narrow one, it is also one of the most crucial results Roma have gotten all season long to cut down the distance between top four.
It is also the first time since 2017 that the Giallorossi have recorded 5 straight wins in Serie A.
The Chicago Blackhawks must be loving what they’re seeing from one of their prospects, Nick Lardis. This 19-year-old 2023 third round pick has been absolutely lighting up the OHL this season and has joined some incredible company with his goal scoring abilities.
Lardis became just the eighth player in OHL history to score 70 goals in a season, and there have been so many great and talented players to play in that league. He is only the third player to reach the 70 goal mark in the last 35 seasons, joining John Tavares (72 goals) and Eric Lindros (71 goals).
Lardis has 70 goals and 113 points in 61 games this season for the Brantford Bulldogs. He started his OHL career on the Peterborough Petes and played there for a season and a half before being traded to the Bulldogs where he immediately broke out and hasn’t looked back.
The reason I can see why Lardis slipped through the cracks all the way to 67th in the 2023 draft was him scoring 37 goals and 65 points in 69 games in his draft year. While his second half was extremely better in Brantford, he didn’t put a full season together until after the Blackhawks drafted him.
Sometimes players who can produce well in the CHL or other junior leagues before turning pro can’t always transfer it over. With this goal scoring ability, it’s hard to think that Lardis isn’t going to figure it out fairly quickly once heading to the AHL and then the NHL hopefully soon after. He is a great piece that the Blackhawks have at their disposal.
Lardis still has a few more games to reach 73 goals or higher and is already well past finishing at over a goal-per-game pace.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, and more.
Serie A | Empoli 0-1 Roma: Historic Soule’ strike keeps Roma running
Matias Soulé made history with the fastest ever Serie A goal scored by Roma, 22 seconds proving enough to get all three points against a decimated Empoli.
The Giallorossi were fresh from a dramatic last-gasp Europa League victory over Athletic Club and won eight of their last 11 competitive matches, but with the second leg coming up on Thursday in Bilbao, had to rotate the squad with Paulo Dybala and Zeki Celik left at home among nine changes. Empoli knocked Juventus out of the Coppa Italia to reach the semi-final, yet scraped only three draws from the last 12 Serie A games. Youssef Maleh added to the absentee list with Tino Anjorin, Ardian Ismajli, Mattia Viti, Ola Solbakken, Nicolas Haas, Szymon Zurkowski, Tyronne Ebuehi, Saba Sazonov and Pietro Pellegri.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
It was the perfect start for Roma, taking the lead within 22 seconds. Lorenzo Colombo had given it away in midfield, Anass Salah-Eddine’s cross from the left went past Lorenzo Pellegrini, so Soulé took a touch just inside the area and fired in with his left foot. It was the fastest-ever Roma goal on record in Serie A.
Mile Svilar got down to palm the Mattia De Sciglio daisy-cutter round the post, while Pellegrini drilled just wide on an Eldor Shomurodov assist.
It should’ve been 2-0 on 36 minutes when Pellegrini did so well to control a tricky ball and lay it off for Shomurodov, who went for power over precision and smashed his strike onto the crossbar from nine yards.
Moments later, Manu Kone sprung the offside trap on a Soulé through ball and dribbled around Marco Silvestri, only to hit the outside of the near post from a tricky angle.
Shomurodov wasted another golden opportunity by nodding a Soulé cross at Silvestri’s legs from point-blank range.
After the restart, Silvestri made a tricky one-handed save on Pellegrini’s header into the ground from Saud Abdulhamid’s cross, while Tommaso Baldanzi tested the goalkeeper against his former club.
Artem Dovbyk could’ve sealed it in stoppages when running onto a Baldanzi slide-rule pass, but Silvestri was alert enough to stick up a hand and parry the dinked finish.
Empoli threatened with the last kick of the game, a Christian Kouame header skimming the upright.
Soulé 1 (R)
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Empoli 0-1 Roma
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AROUND THE WEB
BySusy Campanale
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Matìas Soulé
(Assist: Anass Salah-Eddine)
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Empoli vs. Roma: Lineups & Game Thread
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Serie A, Matchday 28 sees Roma face relegation-battling Empoli on the road.
With a 10-3-2 (W-D-L) record since January, 2025 has been incredibly kind to Roma, who are currently in the midst of an eleven-match unbeaten streak in Serie A. While they had a bit of a scare against Como last weekend, thanks to second half goals from Alexis Saelemaekers and Artem Dovbyk, the Giallorossi were able to exact a bit of revenge from the reverse fixture, keeping their unbeaten streak alive and well.
Claudio Ranieri’s crew followed that up with a 2-1 win over Athletic Club in the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16 on Thursday, pushing their run of victories to five matches in all competitions. Today’s task takes Roma on the road to Empoli, where they’ll meet one of the worst clubs in the league. With only four wins on the season and a measly 22 points, Empoli are in the thick of a four or five team race to the bottom and are sure to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Roma.
The lineups are in, so let’s get down to business!
How angry would you have to be to use delicious, gooey, cheesy pizza as a weapon? If your first thought is, “I would never weaponize that sweet treat,” then congratulations – you are a good person. Unfortunately, not all are like you. In 2004, Arsenal visited Manchester United. They brought with them an unbeaten streak of 49 matches – quite impressive regardless of how much you know about soccer (pronounced “football” outside of the US). These teams had a bit of bad blood between them, basically battling as bewildered bystanders basked in their beauty. This time though, it spilled over to after the game. We’ve already told you what happens (pizza toss, sorry, spoiler), but enjoy this journey into a seemingly fictional land where some fool would throw away such a delicious treat, all in the name of rivalry.
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