Empoli consigned Bologna to their first home defeat under Roberto Donadoni with a pulsating 3-2 victory at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.
Manuel Pucciarelli provided the fitting denoument to a crisp Empoli move on 22 minutes to begin the scoring, before Franco Brienza levelled from a free-kick. Massimo Maccarone netted his third goal in his last two outings to resore his side's advantage before Mattia Destro profited from a Lukasz Skorupski error to restore parity seconds before half-time.
But Empoli persisted and Maccarone's header, initially chopped off by the referee but corrected by the fifth official, minutes after the restart provided decisive as the Azzurri continue their surge up the Serie A table.
Frenetic first-half
Empoli perhaps edged it during the opening exchanges. Massimo Maccarone, buoyed by his two-goal performance against Carpi last weekend, had dragged an early shot wide but, after positive work from Riccardo Saponara on the counter-attack, shimmied inside and drew a fine stop from Antonio Mirante.
Empoli were shifting possession with assurance. Piotr Zielinski, minutes later, broke through the heart of the Bologna reargued but his effort was wayward.
The visitors were burgeoning, chiefly Saponara, and the Italian could have opened the scoring on 18 minutes. Manuel Pucciarelli ushered the midfielder through but he could not lift his effort over the advancing Mirante.
An opener seemed imminent and, five minutes later, it arrived. Vincent Laurini surged down the right before liberating Marcel Buchel. The on-loan Juventus midfielder shifted it onto Saponara who, without a glance up, picked out Pucciarelli in acres of space. The forward, aided by a deflection from a sliding Luca Rossettini, made no mistake inside the danger area.
Empoli were inches away from a second minutes later when Saponara freed Pucciarelli who, after shrugging off the attentions of Marios Oikonomou, dragged his effort of the far post.
Mattia Destro, after firing over on the half-hour mark, was foraging and could have prompted an Andrea Costa dismissal when he was upended on the edge of the penalty area. The referee deemed the challenge worthy of a caution and, from the ensuing free-kick, Bologna fashioned a leveller.
Honed on the training ground, Franco Brienza smashed his set-piece into the top corner and beyond the reach of Lukasz Skorupski. Roberto Donadoni, beleaguered by his side’s monochrome start, gave his nod of approval.
But parity was was fleeting as Maccarone restored the away side’s advantage. Another move for the football purists culminated in a deft dink from Zielinski through to Maccarone who, after springing the offside trap, cushioned his effort beyond Mirante at his near post.
Defensive solidity has been at a premium for the visitors this season, however, and they would be left to rue another individual error when Destro equalised with the last kick of the half. A seemingly innocuous hoof up the field prompted Skorupski off his line and after the on-loan Roma goalkeeper failed to collect, Destro profited and stuck his left-footed effort into an unguarded net.
The second period began at breakneck speed and, within minutes, Empoli notched themselves infront for the third time on the evening.
Visitors edge ahead
Pucciarelli, an indefatigable presence throughout, beat Adam Masina in a footrace and delivered an unerring centre into Maccarone who nodded beyond a bewildered Mirante. Initially, the referee had adjudged to ball to have trickled out before Pucciarelli’s cross but the fifth official was swift to correct his decision and Marco Giampaolo sent his first towards the sky.
The hosts were almost indebted to Lorenzo Tonelli when the veteran, who put pen to paper on an improved deal in Tuscany earlier this month, diverted a clearance towards his own goal.
Pucciarelli and Saponara dovetailed well on 61 minutes as the latter latched onto the goalscorer’s disguised pass, but his effort was tamed and Mirante collected comfortably.
The hosts began to commit more bodies forward in search of an equaliser. Masina found himself inside the penalty area on 71 minutes but his menacing flick eluded everyone in the penalty area and the away side exhaled.
They would be breathing a huge sigh of relief with eleven minutes remaining as Destro headed towards goal from point-blank range. Skorupski, though, atoned for his earlier error by tipping the forward’s header onto the crossbar.