Each of these clubs entered the game with only one point separating them and were coming off of four straight losses. Samuel Umtiti and Youssef Maleh were suspended, and Guglielmo Vicario and Kastriot Dermaku suffered injuries. After a short-circuit caused a minor fire to break out above the Empoli locker rooms at the Stadio Castellani, which was quickly extinguished, kickoff was delayed by an hour while checks were made.

Tommaso Baldanzi's shot was blocked by Bandinelli in a last-ditch effort to prevent Alexander Blin from tapping in from six yards on a corner after Caputo hesitated. Baldanzi also forced a save with a beautiful chest and volley from beyond the area. In the counter-attack, Wladimiro Falcone flew to tip a Caputo rocket over the crossbar, and Baldanzi, riding a couple of tackles, was unable to finish with enough force.