Empoli and Sampdoria fought until the last minute under heavy rain. Empoli managed to secure three points thanks to Ebuehi, while Sampdoria collected zero.
First half
The rhythm of the match was immediately high, as the game was extremely important for both formations. Empoli, however, seemed to be more in control and had more occasions than Sampdoria.
In the 17th minute, the biggest occasion came for Samp with Vieira, who stole the ball after a huge mistake by Vicario. The midfielder ran alone toward the goalkeeper and then tried to pass the ball to Lammers, but with too much power, throwing away the opportunity.
In the 24th minute, Empoli responded with Ebuehi, who after a good skill found space to shoot. Audero was on the trajectory and saved. However, just four minutes later, Leris hit the crossbar, scaring Empoli’s fans.
Both teams kept having interesting occasions. However, toward the end of the first half, Sampdoria was the most dangerous team on the field, as Bandinelli sent a perfect cross in for Satriano, who sent the ball high from a perfect position.
Second half
Empoli started the second half with the right foot, just like it ended the first one. Once again, Satriano had the occasion to make it 1-0, but his attempt finished just wide.
In the 55th minute, Empoli finally managed to score. Ebuehi exploited a perfect corner kick by Marin and made it 1-0.
In the 65th minute, Sampdoria tried to fight back with Djuricic, but his shot was too weak.
Sampdoria desperately tried to tie the game, but with ten minutes to go, the result was still 1-0. Zanoli had a good occasion with a shot from the distance, but it was too high. Gabbiadini also went close to making it 1-1. However, Vicario made a miracle to keep his clean sheet.
Sampdoria tried until the very last minute to score, but Vicario was impossible to beat tonight. Colley actually scored to make it 1-1, but after checking the VAR, the goal was disallowed.
