13.02.2016 17:19 h

Ciofani double for Frosinone stuns Empoli

A brace of goals in either half from striker Daniel Ciofani boosted Frosinone's bid to beat the drop from Serie A in a shock 2-1 win at Empoli on Saturday.

Frosinone had fond memories of Empoli having claimed an historic first win in Serie A against Marco Giampaolo's men earlier this season.

A trip to the Carlo Castellani stadium is usually never an inviting prospect for any teams in Serie A, although this season Empoli have fared better away from home.

In torrential conditions, Ciofani broke the deadlock on 17 minutes when he held off his marker just outside the six-yard box to beat Lukasz Skorupski with a bouncing header that went in off the crossbar.

Veteran Empoli striker Massimo Maccarone levelled with a fine curling strike that beat Nicola Leali at his far post on the hour.

But Ciofani was given the chance to restore Frosinone's lead from the spot when Mario Rui hauled Federico Dionisi down in the area, and the 30-year-old made no mistake sending Skorupski the wrong way.

Frosinone moved up one place to third from bottom ahead of the remaining weekend fixtures, with Empoli still in ninth at 22 points behind leaders Napoli.

Napoli are away to Juventus later Saturday in a bid to stretch their lead over the champions to five points.