Possession between the two sides was roughly equal, with Empoli creating nine shots on goal to Verona’s ten.
Empoli went close to taking the lead in the 8th minute through Razvan Marin, but his thunderous shot was met with a brilliant fingertip save by Lorenzo Montipo who pushed it onto the crossbar.
The home side had another excellent opportunity to go ahead, but Emmanuel Gyasi was unable to tuck away Matteo Cancellieri’s perfect square pass across goal, instead sending it well over the bar.
Verona took the lead in the 75th minute thanks to some poor goalkeeping from a corner. Elia Caprile came out for the ball but missed it, allowing substitute Federico Bonazzoli to punish the error with a shot on the turn.
The lone goal was enough to give Verona all three points, which is a welcome start for them after narrowly avoiding relegation last season.
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