Empoli’s first half was undoubtedly one of the best in the championship, at least at home. Despite facing league leaders Napoli, a team with great talent and quality, the Tuscans approached well and managed to keep the visitors in check for about half the match. Then came the penalty episode that upset D’Aversa’s plans and effectively, at that point, Empoli suffered the blow and was no longer able to make an impact. But as long as the game was balanced, he produced a game that was both careful and lively at the same time. And Napoli has practically never managed to bring danger to Vasquez’s area.
The overall performance of the home team should be underlined: the first forty-five minutes were demanding both physically and mentally, but it was the match that Empoli had to play. Maybe he should have been more cynical going forward by capitalizing more on the decent amount of work produced. Colombo and Esposito looked for each other, not always with clarity; the midfielders – above all Anjorin – tried to launch them and probably lacked precision in some key moments of the match.
However, the excellent collective performance of Empoli remains, which once again showed proactive and harmonious football. A football that often puts opponents in difficulty in terms of dribbling, it is certainly nothing new that the sources of play are dried up by the high pressure of the Tuscans. From a defensive point of view there was only one flaw, the one that led to the penalty on Politano; for the rest, the team provided an attentive and ever-present performance, against a very fearsome opponent due to its freshness and unpredictability.