The Granata were coming off three straight Serie A draws, but midweek, they eliminated Milan from the Coppa Italia at San Siro despite being down to 10 men, giving them a major confidence boost. Pietro Pellegri, Valentin Lazaro, Ola Aina, and Emirhan Ilkhan were out due to injuries, while Spezia hoped to continue their four-match winning streak without Jeroen Zoet.
Although he may argue he was attempting to shield his face, the referee gave Koffi Djidji a penalty after he raised an arm to block an Arkadiusz Reca volley. Vanja Milinkovic-Savic dove, but M'Bala Nzola scored with a spot-kick that was just lifted. Teammate Kevin Agudelo unintentionally diverted Medhi Bourabia's shot off-target, but Toro came out fighting after the half, and Bartlomiej Dragowski stopped Nikola Vlasic. On the hour mark, Milinkovic-Savic mishandled an Emil Holm cross, allowing Emanuel Gyasi to smash against the crossbar at the back post. This nearly doubled Spezia's advantage.