By Anna Italia
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51% Ball Possession BOLOGNA and 49% Ball Possession EMPOLI
Bologna – Empoli 
36′ Franco Brienza 24′ Manuel Pucciarelli
45′ Mattia Destro 42′ Massimo Maccarone
. 48′ Massimo Maccarone
Serie A Standing AFTER the game:
Empoli, 6th position with 27 points and a positive goal difference of +1
Bologna, 13th position with 19 points and a negative goal difference of -5
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | Goals | DIFF | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Empoli | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 23:22 | 1 | 27 |
| 13 | Bologna | 17 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 19:24 | -5 | 19 |
What a blow for Bologna! Empoli defeating Bologna at the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium. It’s a very important for Empoli winning this away game marking the four consecutive win jumping to the 6th position.
Merits going to Empoli forward Massimo “Big Mac” Maccarone scoring two goals.
Empoli silencing the Dall’Ara in the 24th minute when opening the score. It is forward Manuel Pucciarelli to score defeating Bologna goalkeeper Antonio Mirante with a right footed shot in the center. The assist is by midfielder Riccardo Saponara.
Bologna equalizing in the 32nd minute with forward Franco Brienza defeating Empoli goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski with a left footed shot in the top left corner. The assist is by forward Mattia Destro.
Empoli taking again the lead in the 42nd minute. It’s super “Big Mac” forward Massimo Maccarone to break the draw with a right footed shot in the bottom left corner. The assist is by midfielder Piotr Zielins.
A ray of hope for Bologna when forward Mattia Destro equalizes just before ending the first half in the 45th minute for the 2-2 score.
Empoli returning to take care of business in the second half. Yep. In the 48th minute, it is the “hero” for Empoli to delight their fans. The combo working at its best. Pucciarelli providing the assist to Maccarone for the header goal in the center! It became the winner goal.
Here is BOLOGNA official starting lineup by coach Roberto Donadoni:
BOLOGNA (4-3-3): Mirante; Rossettini, Oikonomou, Gastaldello, Masina; Taïder, Crisetig, Donsah; Mounier, Destro, Brienza.
Here is EMPOLI official starting lineup by coach Marco Giampaolo:
EMPOLI (4-3-1-2): Skorupski; Laurini, Tonelli, Costa, Mario Rui; Zieliński, Paredes, Büchel; Saponara; Maccarone, Pucciarelli.
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Stats AFTER the game. Top scorer for BOLOGNA: Mattia Destro with 5 goals
Top scorer for EMPOLI: Massimo Maccarone with 7 goals
| Bologna | Goals | Goals | Empoli |
|---|---|---|---|
| Destro, Mattia | 5 | 7 | Maccarone, Massimo |
| Mounier, Anthony | 3 | 5 | Saponara, Riccardo |
| Rossettini, Luca | 2 | 3 | Pucciarelli, Manuel |
| Brienza, Franco | 2 | 2 | Buchel, Marcel |
| Masina, Adam | 2 | 1 | Paredes, Leandro |
Stats. Here are the last 3 games of BOLOGNA: 2 wins, 1 lost
| 19/12/15 | SA | Bologna – Empoli | 2:3 | Round 17 | |||
| 12/12/15 | SA | Genoa – Bologna | 0:1 | Round 16 | |||
| 06/12/15 | SA | Bologna – Napoli | 3:2 | Round 15 |
Here are the last 3 games of EMPOLI: 3 wins
| 19/12/15 | SA | Bologna – Empoli | 2:3 | Round 17 | |||
| 13/12/15 | SA | Empoli – Carpi | 3:0 | Round 16 | |||
| 06/12/15 | SA | Verona – Empoli | 0:1 | Round 15 |
Photos of the match Bologna vs Empoli courtesy of facebook.com/empolifcofficialpage
Empoli fans at the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium supporting the squad
Empoli forward Massimo Maccarone scoring while Bologna goalkeeper Antonio Mirante vainly attempting to save
Empoli players on their way back making the gesture of 4… as signaling the 4 consecutive wins
2015 – 2016 Italian Serie A Week 17
Bologna 2 – 3 Empoli
Saturday 19 December 2015
Renato Dall’Ara Stadium
Bologna, Italy
20:45
Referee: MARIANI
Assistants: GIALLATINI – ALASSIO
Fourth Official: VIVENZI
ADD1: IRRATI
ADD2: RIPA
Goals: 24′ Manuel Pucciarelli (E), 36′ Franco Brienza (B.), 42′ Massimo Maccarone (E), 45′ Mattia Destro (B.), 48′ Massimo Maccarone (E)
Official lineups – formations:
BOLOGNA (4-3-3): Mirante; Rossettini, Oikonomou, Gastaldello, Masina; Taïder, Crisetig, Donsah; Mounier, Destro, Brienza.
Subs: Acquafresca, Brighi, Crimi, da Costa, Falco, Ferrari, Maietta, Mancosu, Mbaye, Morleo, Pulgar, Stojanović.
Coach: Donadoni.
EMPOLI (4-3-1-2): Skorupski; Laurini, Tonelli, Costa, Mario Rui; Zieliński, Paredes, Büchel; Saponara; Maccarone, Pucciarelli.
Subs.: Pelagotti, Zambelli, Bittante, Croce, Ronaldo, Maiello, Dioussé, Barba, Piu, Ćosić, Camporese, Livaja.
Coach: Giampaolo.
Match Stats
| Bologna | Match Stats | Empoli |
| 2 | Goals | 3 |
| 13(4) | Shots (on goal) | 18(7) |
| 17 | Fouls | 15 |
| 9 | Corner kicks | 6 |
| 6 | Offsides | 2 |
| 51% | Time of Possession | 49% |
| 2 | Yellow Cards | 4 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 4 | Saves | 2 |