By Anna Italia
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% Ball Possession EMPOLI and % Ball Possession INTER
Empoli 0 – 1 Inter 
. 45′ Mauro Icardi
Serie A Standing BEFORE the game:
Empoli, 7th position with 27 points and a positive goal difference of +1
Inter, 1st position with 36 points and a positive goal difference of +12
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | Goals | DIFF | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inter | 17 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 23:11 | 12 | 36 |
| 7 | Empoli | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 23:22 | 1 | 27 |
Inter starting the New Year 2016 keeping the sole leadership of the Serie A. Empoli failing to stop Inter on their fast sprint to win the Scudetto.
It’s Inter to open the score in the 45th minute with forward Mauro Icardi. Imagine, the goal arriving just before ending the first half to boost the morale of the team. Icardi defeating Empoli goalkeeper with a right footed shot in the top left corner. The assist is by forward Ian Perisic.
Photo: facebook.com/Inter
Here is EMPOLI official starting lineup by coach Giampaolo:
EMPOLI (4-3-1-2): Skorupski; Laurini, Barba, Costa, Mario Rui; Büchel, Paredes, Zieliński; Saponara; Pucciarelli, Maccarone.
Here is INTER official starting lineup by coach Roberto Macini:
INTER (4-3-3): Handanović; D’Ambrosio, Miranda, Murillo, Nagatomo; Brozović, Medel, Kondogbia; Perišić, Icardi, Ljajić
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Stats BEFORE the game. Top scorer for EMPOLI: Massimo Maccarone with 7 goals
Top scorer for INTER: Mauro Icardi with 7 goals
| Empoli | Goals | Goals | Inter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maccarone, Massimo | 7 | 7 | Icardi, Mauro |
| Saponara, Riccardo | 5 | 4 | Jovetic, Stevan |
| Pucciarelli, Manuel | 3 | 2 | Brozovic, Marcelo |
| Buchel, Marcel | 2 | 2 | Perisic, Ivan |
| Zielinski, Piotr | 1 | 2 | Ljajic, Adem |
Stats. Here are the last 3 games of EMPOLI:
| 19/12/15 | SA | Bologna – Empoli | 2:3 | Round 17 |
| 13/12/15 | SA | Empoli – Carpi | 3:0 | 16 |
| 06/12/15 | SA | Verona – Empoli | 0:1 | 15 |
Here are the last 3 games of INTER: 2 lost, 1 win
| 30/12/15 | CFG | Inter – Paris St.-Germa… | 0:1 | Friendly | |||
| 20/12/15 | SA | Inter – Lazio | 1:2 | Round 17 | |||
| 15/12/15 | CI | Inter – Cagliari | 3:0 | 1/8 |
Photos of the match Empoli vs Inter courtesy of facebook.com/Inter
Inter dressing room before the match against Empoli…. uniforms ready……
Photo: facebook.com/empolifcofficialpage
2015 – 2016 Italian Serie A Week 18
Empoli 0 – 1 Inter
Wednesday 6 January 2016
Carlo Castellani Stadium
Empoli, Italy
18:00
Referee: CELI
Assistants: POSADO – LA ROCCA
Fourth Official: MUSOLINO
ADD1: TAGLIAVENTO
ADD2: FABBRI
Goals: 45′ Mauro Icardi (I)
Official lineups – formations:
EMPOLI (4-3-1-2): Skorupski; Laurini, Barba, Costa, Mario Rui; Büchel, Paredes, Zieliński; Saponara; Pucciarelli, Maccarone.
Subs: Pugliesi, Pelagotti, Zambelli, Camporese, Bittante, Croce, Maiello, Dioussé, Piu, Ćosić, Krunić, Livaja.
Coach: Giampaolo.
INTER (4-3-3): Handanović; D’Ambrosio, Miranda, Murillo, Nagatomo; Brozović, Medel, Kondogbia; Perišić, Icardi, Ljajić.
Subs: Carrizo, Juan Jesus, Telles, Montoya, Santon, Ranocchia, Gnoukouri, Guarín, Palacio, Jovetić, Biabiany, Manaj.
Coach: Mancini.
Match Stats
| Empoli | Match Stats | Inter |
| 0 | Goals | 1 |
| 16(4) | Shots (on goal) | 14(3) |
| 9 | Fouls | 10 |
| 8 | Corner kicks | 5 |
| 2 | Offsides | 1 |
| 48% | Ball Possession | 52% |
| 2 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 2 | Saves | 4 |