Empoli clinch first win of the season as Motta's Bologna debut ends in defeat

In pursuit of a victory at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara for the first time since December 2015, the visitors were within inches of taking the lead with only seven minutes on the clock as Łukasz Skorupski extraordinarily redirected Sam Lammers’ header onto the underside of the crossbar. However, after securing their first win of the season last time out in a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina, Bologna struggled to match their visitors approaching the quarter-hour mark.

In Thiago Motta's maiden match as the new I Rossoblù manager, following the heart-rending dismissal of Siniša Mihajlović, the hosts were made to patiently wait to register their first opportunity on goal as Guglielmo Vicario sublimely prevented Riccardo Orsolini’s strike from finding the corner in the 20th minute.

With HT fast approaching, opportunities for both sides to break the deadlock went amiss, as referee Manuel Volpi blew his whistle for the interval, with neither team able to be separated in an enthralling opening half. Paolo Zanetti’s players were left surrounding the referee shortly before the hour-mark after awarding a penalty to the hosts for handball. However, after an agonisingly prolonged delay for both sides, VAR came to the visitors' rescue, instructing Manuel Volpi to overturn his initial decision.

See stats from the match at Flashscore

Leading by example in the Empoli white and blue, Filippo Bandinelli sent the travelling supporters into rapturous celebration 15 minutes from time when the captain instinctively arrived into the penalty area to strike the ball into the net. But, not deterred from going behind, Bologna were inches from responding immediately when SA topscorer Marko Arnautović struck the post with a close-range header.

With time running out, Motta introduced a double substitution for the final ten minutes, but was ultimately left with nothing in his first match in charge, as Empoli registered only their second victory across a sequence of 15 SA away encounters. Meanwhile, after a third match without a win, Motta’s winless managerial tenure against Empoli continues.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Filippo Bandinelli (Empoli F.C.)