GENOA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 25: Alessandro Marcandalli of Genoa (right) celebrates with his team-mates Valentin Carboni and Albert Gronbaek after scoring a goal during the Coppa Italia match between Genoa CFC and Empoli at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on September 25, 2025 in Genoa, Italy. (Photo by Simone Arveda/Getty Images)
Genoa will face Atalanta in the Coppa Italia Round of 16, as they fought back from an early Empoli free kick to win 3-1.
This was a family affair, as brothers Valentin and Franco Carboni faced off down the flank in the starting XI. Patrick Vieira’s Grifone had just two points from four Serie A rounds, beating Vicenza 3-0 in the opening Coppa Italia round. Empoli weren’t doing much better, scraping one point from the last three in Serie B, and needing penalties to eliminate Reggiana in the cup.
It was the visitors who broke the deadlock early on, as a ferocious free kick from Edoardo Saporiti went round the defensive wall and surprised Nicola Leali at the near post, so the positioning was clearly a problem. Curiously, Saporiti is from Genoa.
It didn’t last long, as moments later Morten Frendrup sprung the offside trap on a smart Lorenzo Colombo pass and drilled in low at the near bottom corner.
This was a very open match, Brando Moruzzi testing the Genoa goalkeeper, and an Albert Gronbaek free kick skimming the upright.
The hosts turned it around after the restart when substitute Lorenzo Venturino flicked on the Nicolae Stanciu cross on a corner, allowing Alessandro Marcandalli to get the final touch from three yards.
The Grifone locked down the result with Jeff Ekhator, ready to meet the Morten Thorsby knockdown from close range after an initial save on Stanciu.
Genoa 3-1 Empoli
Saporiti 12 (E), Frendrup 15 (G), Marcandalli 56 (G), Ekhator 83 (G)
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