“Edoardo Saporiti opens the scoring for Empoli, finishing off a rebound after his initial shot was blocked, assisted by Matteo Egan.”
Pivotal“Francesco Ruocco equalizes for Mantova just seven minutes after going behind, assisted by Alessio Castellini, moments after Vlahović's header had gone close.”
Pivotal“Vanja Vlahović completes the turnaround, scoring the winner assisted by Stefano Cella just three minutes after Mantova had drawn level.”
Pivotal“Fahem Benaïssa adds a third for Mantova in stoppage time, putting the result beyond doubt after a tense final stretch.”
Mantova
Empoli
Outstanding performance
Mantova•AttackerEmpoli struck first through Edoardo Saporiti in the 51st minute, capitalizing on a blocked shot and a quick follow-up to silence the home crowd, but Mantova responded almost immediately. Francesco Ruocco leveled things at 58' from a Vanja Vlahović header that fell kindly, and just three minutes later Vlahović himself turned scorer to put Mantova ahead for good. Despite Empoli dominating possession (54%) and dangerous attacks (36 to 27), it was Mantova's clinical edge that told - 16 shots to 6, and 9 on target compared to just 2, with Fahem Benaïssa's stoppage-time goal sealing a result that flattered the hosts' overall attacking threat. The match also descended into a fractious affair with nine yellow cards shown, including three in the chaotic five-minute spell around the equalizer, as both sides lost their discipline chasing the game.
How entertaining was this match?
Corner awarded.
Rachid Kouda takes a left-footed shot, but it is saved.
Eman Kospo is on, and Bodin Tomasevic is off.
Jean-Pierre Longonda's left-footed shot is saved.
Fahem Benaissa-Yahia takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Substituting Jean-Pierre Longonda for Francesco Ruocco.
Alessio Castellini takes a right-footed shot, but it is saved.
Luca Belardinelli receives a yellow card.
On comes Lapo Deli, off goes Gerard Yepes.
Bogdan Popov comes on for Filippo Distefano.
Luca Magnino takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Corner awarded.
Vanja VlahovićShot by Vanja Vlahovic with his left foot results in a goal.
assist: Stefano Cella
Goal! Vanja Vlahovic scores to make it 2-1, assisted by Stefano Cella.
Francesco RuoccoFrancesco Ruocco scores with a right-footed shot.
assist: Alessio Castellini
Goal! Francesco Ruocco scores to make it 1-1, assisted by Alessio Castellini.
Vanja Vlahovic takes a shot with his head but misses.
Marco CurtoYellow CardMarco Curto receives a yellow card.
Rachid Kouda comes on for Lorenzo Ignacchiti.
Ismale Cajazzo comes on for Rares Ilie.
Vanja Vlahovic comes on for Ettore Gliozzi.
Luca Belardinelli replaces Karim Zedadka.
Edoardo SaporitiShot - Edoardo Saporiti Head Shot Goal
Francesco BardiYellow CardFrancesco Bardi receives a yellow card.
assist: Matteo Egan
Goal! Edoardo Saporiti scores to make it 1-0, assisted by Matteo Egan.
Rares Ilie takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Edoardo Saporiti's right-footed shot is blocked.
Karim ZedadkaYellow CardKarim Zedadka receives a yellow card.
The first half ends with a score of 0-0.
Alessio CastelliniYellow CardYellow card shown to Alessio Castellini.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Steven Shpendi takes a shot with his head, but it's saved.
Offside.
Corner awarded.
Ettore Gliozzi takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Corner awarded.
Gerard YepesYellow CardYellow card for Gerard Yepes.
Edoardo Saporiti takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Ettore Gliozzi takes a left-footed shot, but it's saved.
Corner awarded.
Alessio Castellini attempts a header but misses the shot.
Rares Ilie's right-footed shot is saved.
Corner awarded.
Alessio Castellini's header is blocked.
Kick-off has occurred!
Two teams riding opening-day wins collide as Mantova host Empoli in a fixture full of early promise. With both sides unbeaten and eager to prove their start was no fluke, expect a tightly contested, goal-friendly encounter at Stadio Danilo Martelli.
