A first half goal from Andrea Bertolacci seemed enough to see off Empoli, but a late scramble over the line from Massimo Maccarone meant both sides shared the points.
The home fans felt aggrieved as they dominated much of the game, and it seemed Lorenzo Tonelli handled the ball in the build up to the equaliser.
Agree with our ratings? Have your say in the comments below.
Genoa
Mattia Perin – 6.5 – Confident
Relatively untroubled by the Empoli attack but dealt with anything that posed his goal any danger with supreme confidence. Couldn’t have done much to prevent the away side from equalising.
Nicolas Burdisso – 6 – Untroubled
Empoli will feel aggrieved they didn’t make the Argentinian work more. Seemed to disappear when Empoli scored the equaliser.
Sebastian De Maio – 6.5 – Stoic
Looked comfortable for vast amounts of the game. Made some important clearances and some attractive slide tackles.
Giovani Marchese – 6.5 – Resolute
Mirrored De Maio to the best of his ability. Played close to the touch-line when he could and quashed any potential attacking moves.
Luca Antonelli – 6.5 – Gutsy
Got up and down the flanks with ease and looked dangerous the longer the game went on. Showed great determination to win the ball back in the Empoli half.
Andrea Bertolacci – 7 – Spirited
Run onto Matri’s back-pass and leathered the ball past Bassi in the Empoli goal. Nearly beat the keeper again with a sneaky effort to the bottom corner but was denied a second.
Tomas Rincon – 6.5 – Decent
Misplaced a few too many passes and seemed to come alive in the attacking third. Stretched off in the second half and replaced by Antonini.
Edenilson – 5.5 – Invisible
Passed the ball well and recovered any loss possession but was largely unnoticeable. Missed a great chances to put the home side back in front.
Diego Perotti – 5.5 – Nulled
The former Sevilla prodigy had few chances to shine all game. Seemed to be swamped by Empoli players when on the ball. Picked up a booking for protesting the Empoli equaliser. Smashed his volley over the bar in extra time to complete a miserable evening for the Argentinian.
Alessandro Matri – 7 – Unselfish
Perhaps should have taken some of the chances that came his way. Credited with the assist when he rolled the ball back for Bertolacci to strike. Squandered several chances to increase the lead and missed in the vital moment that would have put them back in the lead.
Iago Falque – 6.5 – Threatening
Fast and furious on the left wing, the former Tottenham Hotspur youngster sent in several teasing crosses for Matri who couldn’t convert.
Substitutes
Luca Antonini – 6 – Resourceful
Played like one of the more experienced players on the field and slotted into the revolving Genoa formation. Picked up the only booking of the game for a poor challenge.
Maxime Lestienne – 6 – Promising
The Belgian wonderkid replaced Falque and continued where the Spaniard left off with dangerous runs at the defenders.
Empoli
Davide Bassi – 6 – Blameless
Couldn’t have responded quickly enough to Bertolacci’s strike. Didn’t have many chances to atone for his mistake.
Mario Rui – 6.5 – Inspired
Tried to catch Mattia Perin out with a quickly-taken shot but his effort flew into the side netting. Went on an inspired run past the Genoa defence but his final ball couldn’t find Maccarone.
Daniele Rugani – 6 – Quiet
Didn’t stand out for his defensive game today and failed to read Matri’s movement. Not one of the Italian Under-21’s better games.
Lorenzo Tonelli – 6 – Average
Was left second best in one or two tussles with Matri and resorted to drawing fouls from the striker on loan from AC Milan. Looked to get the last touch off of Maccarone’s goal but may also looked to have handled the ball.
Elseid Hysaj – 5.5 – Slow
Couldn’t cope with the pace of each Genoa attack and in particular Iago Falque. Seemed to loose his concentration at times.
Daniele Croce – 6.5 – Workhorse
Popped up all over the field and regularly got involved in passing moves and was brought down a fair few times.
Mirko Valdifiori – 6.5 – Solid
Commanded the midfield well and helped ensure Genoa couldn’t score a second. Broke up attacking moves quickly and efficiently.
Matias Vecino – 6 – Runner
Covered the most amount of ground and did much of it at full throttle. Was unable to turn any of his hard work into goal-scoring chances.
Simone Verdi – 6.5 – Skillful
Pinged the ball around with confidence and looked to have the Genoa defenders beaten for pace. Could have played in Pucciarelli for the equaliser but over-hit his pass. Replaced by Zielinski later on.
Massimo Maccarone – 6.5 – Saviour
Isolated for much of the game with little to work with in attack. Grew increasingly annoyed and squandered two chances to trouble Perin. A corner saw the striker nod the ball in the direction of the goal and a deflection took it over the line.
Manuel Pucciarelli – 5.5 – Wasteful
Missed a great chance to restore parity just before the half an hour mark. Having broken away from the defenders the striker skewed his shot wide. Replaced after an hour by Tavano.
Substitutes
Francesco Tavano – 6 – Bright
The Empoli talisman added a new dimension to the Tuscan side in attack. Played a ball in that could have found Maccarone but Perin gathered it.
Piotr Zielinski – 5.5 – Unlucky
Came on at an important stage in the game to try unlock the Genoa defense, but couldn’t succeed in doing so. Had the ball at his feet in the penalty area but couldn’t direct a shot on goal in time.
Irakli Shekiladze – N/A
The Georgian came on very late in the game and used his physicality to cause the tired Genoa defense problems.
