| Minute | Text commentary |
| 45' | It's 0-0 after 45 minutes of play at the Stadio Castellani. |
| 40' | Materazzi cuts out Marianini's cross from the right and sets up a counter-attack. Ibrahimovic latches on to a Zanetti through ball and has his left-foot shot from the edge of the Empoli area saved by Balli. |
| 39' | Lucchini beats Crespo to a Grosso left-wing cross and heads to safety. |
| 38' | At the other end, Ibrahimovic swivels on the edge of the area and sends a left-foot shot on target. It's too central, and Balli makes a comfortable save. |
| 37' | Raggi finds Saudati with a long-range pass into the Inter area, but the Empoli number 11 fails to control the ball. |
| 35' | Stankovic's cross from the free kick is cleared as far Samuel, whose spectacular shot on the turn is a yard wide of the left post. |
| 34' | Free kick to Inter for a bad tackle by Saudati on Stankovic. |
| 34' | Inter hit Empoli on the break. Cambiasso makes a 50-yard run down the middle before passing wide for Crespo, but Adani makes a headed interception. |
| 33' | Burdisso's inswinging cross from the right channel is headed clear by the Empoli defence. |
| 32' | Materazzi blocks a Lucchini left-wing cross. |
| 31' | Almiron tests Julio Cesar with a swerve shot from distance. Seconds later Marianini fires high and wide from 30 yards. |
| 31' | Cambiasso smashes clear as Empoli get into the Inter area with Lucchini. |
| 29' | The flag goes up for offside as Ibrahimovic sees a right-foot shot saved by the legs of Balli. |
| 27' | Saudati booked for protesting after a confrontation with Materazzi. |
| 27' | Raggi's first-time cross from Vannucchi's short pass is headed clear by Nic Burdisso. |
| 22' | Burdisso races down the right and looks for Ibrahimovic but the Argentine defender's short pass is intercepted by Adani. |
| 21' | Ibrahimovic, Stankovic and Solari look for a way through but Empoli are defending in numbers. |
| 19' | Grosso's right-wing cross forces Balli into a punched save. The loose ball falls to Solari who finds the side-netting with a diagonal shot. |
| 18' | Free kick to Inter on the right wing for an Adani foul on Stankovic. |
| 17' | Nothing comes of the free kick as Raggi is booked for diving after receiving in the area from Almiron. The Empoli number 46 will miss his team's next match. |
| 16' | Free kick to Empoli 30 yards out for a Materazzi foul on Saudati. |
| 16' | Ibrahimovic receives Stankovic's pass wide, takes on Lucchini and crosses low into the Empoli area. Solari fails to capitalise. |
| 13' | Solari dances past an opponent during an Inter attack down the middle before laying off for Ibrahimovic who is caught in possession. |
| 12' | Almiron runs with the ball as Empoli come forward on the break. The Argentine midfielder overhits his pass for Saudati and Inter win a goal kick. |
| 11' | Ibra intercepts a crossfield pass by Almiron and combines with Cambiasso and Solari but Raggi wins the ball back just inside the Tuscan area. |
| 8' | Ibrahimovic booked for diving in the Empoli area. |
| 6' | Grosso's curling free kick is on target, but Empoli custodian Balli makes a good save. |
| 5' | Free kick to Inter in a central position 25 yards out for a foul by former Inter defender Daniele Adani on Dejan Stankovic. |
| 3' | Buscè's first-time cross from Vannucchi's ball wide reaches Saudati on the edge of the Nerazzurri box. The Empoli forward loses control and Samuel plays calmly back to his keeper. |
| 2' | Luchini's weak header from Vannucchi's cross is easy prey for Julio Cesar. |
| 1' | Welcome to the Stadio Castellani for Empoli v Inter. |
| 1' | Empoli win a left-wing free kick for a Materazzi foul on their captain Vannucchi. |
| 1' | Empoli kick off. FORZA INTER!!! |
| 1' | Inter: 12 Julio Cesar; 16 Burdisso, 23 Materazzi, 25 Samuel, 11 Grosso; 21 Solari, 5 Stankovic, 19 Cambiasso, 4 Zanetti; 8 Ibrahimovic, 18 Crespo. |
| 1' | Empoli: 23 Balli; 46 Raggi, 14 Adani, 50 Pratali, 3 Lucchini; 24 Buscè, 4 Almiron, 8 Marianini, 5 Moro; 10 Vannucchi; 11 Saudati. |
| Minute | Text commentary |
| 49' | Full time. Goals from Crespo, Ibrahimovic and Samuel give Inter a 3-0 win at Empoli. |
| 45' | Four minutes of overtime. |
| 42' | That was Samuel's second of the season. |
| 42' | GOOOAAALLL!!!!! Samuel scores Inter's third with a diving header from Burdisso's right-wing cross. |
| 41' | Inter take the free kick quickly as Recoba feeds Ibrahimovic. The Swedish forward's close-range shot is deflected out for a corner by Balli. |
| 40' | Free kick to Inter 30 yards out for an Adani foul on Adriano. |
| 39' | Vannucchi's shot from distance is over the Inter crossbar. |
| 38' | Gasparetto's shot on the turn from a Buscè cross is wide of the right post. |
| 36' | Balli comes out of his area and smashes out for a throw-in to deny Adriano. |
| 35' | Empoli make their third switch. On comes Pozzi for Pratali. |
| 33' | That was Ibra's seventh of the season (6 in Serie A, 1 in Champions League). |
| 33' | GOOOOAAALLL!!!! Zlatan Ibrahimovic gives Inter a 2-0 lead with a shot in off the post after a suicidal back pass by Vannucchi. |
| 32' | Tosto's cross from the free kick is punched clear by Julio Cesar. Moro volleys the loose ball over the Inter bar. |
| 31' | Materazzi booked for a foul on Vannucchi. Free kick to Empoli 35 yards out on the left wing. |
| 28' | Burdisso makes a cracking tackle on the rampant Vannucchi, and concedes a corner. |
| 25' | Vannucchi close again. This time the Empoli captain plays a defence-splitting one-two with Saudati before firing narrowly wide of the right post. |
| 24' | Vannucchi's venomous right-foot effort from the resulting 25-yard free kick is just over Julio Cesar's crossbar. |
| 23' | Stankovic booked for a foul from behind on Vannucchi. |
| 21' | Balli smothers the ball to deny Adriano a tap-in from Ibra's right-wing cross. |
| 20' | Empoli bring on Gasparetto for Almiron. |
| 18' | Inter replace Hernan Crespo with Adriano. |
| 17' | Ibra fluffs a chance for a second goal. The Swedish forward's poked shot from Cambiasso's through ball is blocked by Balli. |
| 15' | Free kick to Inter on the right wing for a Tosto foul on Alvaro Recoba. |
| 15' | GOOOAAAALLLL!!!!!! El Chino's inswinging cross is headed on to the crossbar by Ibrahimovic. Hernan Crespo steals in to slot home the loose ball. |
| 15' | That was Crespo's ninth of the season. |
| 14' | Crespo brings down a Stankovic ball into the box with his chest but is promptly intercepted by Raggi. |
| 13' | At this stadium on 25 January 1998, Recoba scored from inside his own half to give Inter a 1-1 draw against Empoli. |
| 13' | Mancini makes his second substitution: Recoba replaces Solari. |
| 11' | Solari whips in a cross from the left. Balli jumps to grasp the ball. |
| 10' | Solari's cross from the right is goalbound but Pratali gets back to hook behind for an Inter corner. |
| 9' | Pratali is surrounded by three Inter players as he looks for space on the left during an Empoli counter-attack. |
| 8' | Dejan Stankovic tries a lob shot after receiving from Crespo but it's well wide of the left post. |
| 7' | Stankovic combines well with Solari and is through on goal but the Serbian midfielder loses control of the ball. |
| 7' | Zanetti is tackled by Raggi after a storming run down the left. |
| 5' | Samuel blocks an Almiron shot from just outside the Inter area. |
| 5' | Julio Cesar grasps a Marianini cross from the right wing. |
| 4' | Fabio Grosso appears to have suffered a muscular injury. The Italian full-back is replaced by Maxwell. |
| 3' | Samuel makes a headed clearance from Buscè's right-wing cross. |
| 1' | Empoli hit Inter on the break after Ibra loses possession in the Tuscan half. Tosto makes a 40-yard run before feeding Saudati who is beaten to the ball by Julio Cesar. |
| 1' | Empoli have brought on Tosto for Lucchini. |
| 1' | Inter get the second half under way. FORZA RAGAZZI!!! |