Hellas Verona recorded a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Empoli in week 36 of the Serie A season at the Stadio Bentegodi.
It was the visitors who shocked the home crowd in the sixth minute when they took an early lead thanks to Riccardo Sapanora. However the Gialloblu fought-back and swiftly equalised thanks to Evangelos Moras in the 24th minute and eventually obtained the three points thanks to a Jacopo Sala strike in the 67th.
The opening stages of this hotly contested clash began with both sides confident in possession of the ball and especially keen on creating goalscoring opportunities.
In coincidence with this frenetic start, an unsurprising early breakthrough came about when the Azzurri took the lead in only the sixth minute of the match thanks to a smart finish by Riccardo Sapanora.
Following a neat exchange of passes on the edge of the Verona penalty area, the ball eventually fell to veteran striker Massimo Maccarone who displayed intelligence and skill as he flicked the ball into the path of the 23-year-old, who remained calm under pressure and slotted his close-range strike past a helpless Rafael.
Despite this early set-back, the home side quickly regained their composure and very nearly levelled the match in the 20th minute when Luca Toni struck a powerful shot which was kept out only by the cross-bar.
This Gialloblu resurgence did not take long to bear fruit however, when they justifiably equalised in the 24th minute via a towering header from Evangelos Moras.
Mounir Obbiadi was the architect as he whipped in an enticing free-kick towards the back post, this accurate delivery was subsequently met by the head of the Greek defender who managed to rise well above his marker and direct the ball through the crowd of bodies and into the left-hand corner of the net.
As the half drew to a close, the frantic nature continued to provide goalscoring chances and Verona came close to taking a last-minute lead when Toni got on the end of a Emil Hallfredsson cross, however the 37-year-old’s volley did not have enough power to get past the Empoli goalkeeper.
In stark contrast to the free-flowing football of the first half, both sides appeared more defensive following the re-start and each struggled rediscover their grip on the game.
The visitors were soon made to pay for their sluggish start to the second-half when Jacopo Sala took advantage of some slack Empoli defending and put his side 2-1 up.
The tireless Hallfredsson was present once again on the left flank as he sent a low cross into the penalty area. The away defence were simply unable to clear the ball and it eventually fell to the fortunately placed Sala who smashed the ball into the far left hand corner.
As the game progressed, the home side revelled in its scrappy fashion and began to force the opposition back on every occasion, however they unable to obtain a third and it eventually ended 2-1
