Category: Sampdoria

Serie A | Empoli 1-1 Salernitana: Penalty save blows race wide open

May 14, 2022

Salernitana fought back for a point in Empoli, but saw a late Diego Perotti penalty saved by Guglielmo Vicario, this result still mathematically relegating Venezia and leaving the rest wide open.

The Tuscans were already comfortably mid-table, while Davide Nicola had dragged his side kicking and screaming from a seemingly impossible situation to one point clear of the drop zone. Valerio Verre and Petar Stojanovic returned from suspension, with Riccardo Marchizza, Lorenzo Tonelli and Nicolas Haas injured. Franck Ribery and Emil Bohinen sat out bans after the chaotic 1-1 draw with Cagliari.

Serie A Liveblog: Empoli-Salernitana, Roma-Venezia, Udinese-Spezia, Verona-Torino

Just seven minutes in, Fabiano Parisi needed a goal-line clearance to prevent the Milan Djuric header on a corner. Moments later, Guglielmo Vicario fingertipped a Norbert Gyomber header onto the underside of the bar from Simone Verdi’s free kick.

However, it was Empoli who broke the deadlock when Kristjan Asllani threaded through for Patrick Cutrone, who squeezed his right-foot shot between the goalkeeper and the near post. That was Cutrone’s third Serie A goal of the season, his second past Salernitana.

Ivan Radovanovic’s daisy-cutter flashed inches wide, while Pasquale Mazzocchi and Ederson strikes skimmed the far top corner.

Valerio Verre tested Luigi Sepe from distance and Cutrone should’ve made it 2-0, his free header off target from six yards.

Guglielmo Vicario made a simply extraordinary save to claw Federico Bonazzoli’s header off the line after a Matteo Ruggeri cross.

Moments later, Empoli went on the counter and Cutrone hit the base of the upright, then Sepe needed a double save on Nedim Bajrami and Filippo Bandinelli.

Vicario made another extraordinary save on Djuric’s header and the attempted Bonazzoli tap-in. However, Vicario also fumbled the successive corner and Bonazzoli equalised with a spectacular bicycle-kick.

The drama wasn’t over, as Mamadou Coulibaly and Simone Romagnoli both lunged at the same ball, the Salernitana man getting there millimetres earlier and so a penalty was awarded after a VAR review. Diego Perotti stepped up, but his spot-kick was fingertipped out of the bottom corner by Vicario.

Andrea La Mantia almost won it for Empoli, a header inches over in the final kick. At the final whistle Perotti collapsed in tears, consoled by his teammates.

Empoli 1-1 Salernitana

Cutrone 31 (E), Bonazzoli 76 (S)

Saved penalty: Perotti 84 (S)

Serie A | Empoli 1-1 Salernitana: Penalty save blows race wide open

May 14, 2022

Salernitana fought back for a point in Empoli, but saw a late Diego Perotti penalty saved by Guglielmo Vicario, this result still mathematically relegating Venezia and leaving the rest wide open.

Watch the highlights here.

Serie A Highlights: Empoli 1-1 Salernitana

The Tuscans were already comfortably mid-table, while Davide Nicola had dragged his side kicking and screaming from a seemingly impossible situation to one point clear of the drop zone. Valerio Verre and Petar Stojanovic returned from suspension, with Riccardo Marchizza, Lorenzo Tonelli and Nicolas Haas injured. Franck Ribery and Emil Bohinen sat out bans after the chaotic 1-1 draw with Cagliari.

Serie A Liveblog: Empoli-Salernitana, Roma-Venezia, Udinese-Spezia, Verona-Torino

Just seven minutes in, Fabiano Parisi needed a goal-line clearance to prevent the Milan Djuric header on a corner. Moments later, Guglielmo Vicario fingertipped a Norbert Gyomber header onto the underside of the bar from Simone Verdi’s free kick.

However, it was Empoli who broke the deadlock when Kristjan Asllani threaded through for Patrick Cutrone, who squeezed his right-foot shot between the goalkeeper and the near post. That was Cutrone’s third Serie A goal of the season, his second past Salernitana.

Ivan Radovanovic’s daisy-cutter flashed inches wide, while Pasquale Mazzocchi and Ederson strikes skimmed the far top corner.

Valerio Verre tested Luigi Sepe from distance and Cutrone should’ve made it 2-0, his free header off target from six yards.

Guglielmo Vicario made a simply extraordinary save to claw Federico Bonazzoli’s header off the line after a Matteo Ruggeri cross.

Moments later, Empoli went on the counter and Cutrone hit the base of the upright, then Sepe needed a double save on Nedim Bajrami and Filippo Bandinelli.

Vicario made another extraordinary save on Djuric’s header and the attempted Bonazzoli tap-in. However, Vicario also fumbled the successive corner and Bonazzoli equalised with a spectacular bicycle-kick.

The drama wasn’t over, as Mamadou Coulibaly and Simone Romagnoli both lunged at the same ball, the Salernitana man getting there millimetres earlier and so a penalty was awarded after a VAR review. Diego Perotti stepped up, but his spot-kick was fingertipped out of the bottom corner by Vicario.

Andrea La Mantia almost won it for Empoli, a header inches over in the final kick. At the final whistle Perotti collapsed in tears, consoled by his teammates.

Empoli 1-1 Salernitana

Cutrone 31 (E), Bonazzoli 76 (S)

Saved penalty: Perotti 84 (S)

Serie A | Empoli 1-1 Salernitana: Penalty save blows race wide open

May 14, 2022

Salernitana fought back for a point in Empoli, but saw a late Diego Perotti penalty saved by Guglielmo Vicario, this result still mathematically relegating Venezia and leaving the rest wide open.

Watch the highlights here.

Serie A Highlights: Empoli 1-1 Salernitana

The Tuscans were already comfortably mid-table, while Davide Nicola had dragged his side kicking and screaming from a seemingly impossible situation to one point clear of the drop zone. Valerio Verre and Petar Stojanovic returned from suspension, with Riccardo Marchizza, Lorenzo Tonelli and Nicolas Haas injured. Franck Ribery and Emil Bohinen sat out bans after the chaotic 1-1 draw with Cagliari.

Serie A Liveblog: Empoli-Salernitana, Roma-Venezia, Udinese-Spezia, Verona-Torino

Just seven minutes in, Fabiano Parisi needed a goal-line clearance to prevent the Milan Djuric header on a corner. Moments later, Guglielmo Vicario fingertipped a Norbert Gyomber header onto the underside of the bar from Simone Verdi’s free kick.

However, it was Empoli who broke the deadlock when Kristjan Asllani threaded through for Patrick Cutrone, who squeezed his right-foot shot between the goalkeeper and the near post. That was Cutrone’s third Serie A goal of the season, his second past Salernitana.

Ivan Radovanovic’s daisy-cutter flashed inches wide, while Pasquale Mazzocchi and Ederson strikes skimmed the far top corner.

Valerio Verre tested Luigi Sepe from distance and Cutrone should’ve made it 2-0, his free header off target from six yards.

Guglielmo Vicario made a simply extraordinary save to claw Federico Bonazzoli’s header off the line after a Matteo Ruggeri cross.

Moments later, Empoli went on the counter and Cutrone hit the base of the upright, then Sepe needed a double save on Nedim Bajrami and Filippo Bandinelli.

Vicario made another extraordinary save on Djuric’s header and the attempted Bonazzoli tap-in. However, Vicario also fumbled the successive corner and Bonazzoli equalised with a spectacular bicycle-kick.

The drama wasn’t over, as Mamadou Coulibaly and Simone Romagnoli both lunged at the same ball, the Salernitana man getting there millimetres earlier and so a penalty was awarded after a VAR review. Diego Perotti stepped up, but his spot-kick was fingertipped out of the bottom corner by Vicario.

Andrea La Mantia almost won it for Empoli, a header inches over in the final kick. At the final whistle Perotti collapsed in tears, consoled by his teammates.

Empoli 1-1 Salernitana

Cutrone 31 (E), Bonazzoli 76 (S)

Saved penalty: Perotti 84 (S)

Serie A | Empoli 1-1 Salernitana: Penalty save blows race wide open

May 14, 2022

Salernitana fought back for a point in Empoli, but saw a late Diego Perotti penalty saved by Guglielmo Vicario, this result still mathematically relegating Venezia and leaving the rest wide open.

The Tuscans were already comfortably mid-table, while Davide Nicola had dragged his side kicking and screaming from a seemingly impossible situation to one point clear of the drop zone. Valerio Verre and Petar Stojanovic returned from suspension, with Riccardo Marchizza, Lorenzo Tonelli and Nicolas Haas injured. Franck Ribery and Emil Bohinen sat out bans after the chaotic 1-1 draw with Cagliari.

Serie A Liveblog: Empoli-Salernitana, Roma-Venezia, Udinese-Spezia, Verona-Torino

Just seven minutes in, Fabiano Parisi needed a goal-line clearance to prevent the Milan Djuric header on a corner. Moments later, Guglielmo Vicario fingertipped a Norbert Gyomber header onto the underside of the bar from Simone Verdi’s free kick.

However, it was Empoli who broke the deadlock when Kristjan Asllani threaded through for Patrick Cutrone, who squeezed his right-foot shot between the goalkeeper and the near post. That was Cutrone’s third Serie A goal of the season, his second past Salernitana.

Ivan Radovanovic’s daisy-cutter flashed inches wide, while Pasquale Mazzocchi and Ederson strikes skimmed the far top corner.

Valerio Verre tested Luigi Sepe from distance and Cutrone should’ve made it 2-0, his free header off target from six yards.

Guglielmo Vicario made a simply extraordinary save to claw Federico Bonazzoli’s header off the line after a Matteo Ruggeri cross.

Moments later, Empoli went on the counter and Cutrone hit the base of the upright, then Sepe needed a double save on Nedim Bajrami and Filippo Bandinelli.

Vicario made another extraordinary save on Djuric’s header and the attempted Bonazzoli tap-in. However, Vicario also fumbled the successive corner and Bonazzoli equalised with a spectacular bicycle-kick.

The drama wasn’t over, as Mamadou Coulibaly and Simone Romagnoli both lunged at the same ball, the Salernitana man getting there millimetres earlier and so a penalty was awarded after a VAR review. Diego Perotti stepped up, but his spot-kick was fingertipped out of the bottom corner by Vicario.

Andrea La Mantia almost won it for Empoli, a header inches over in the final kick. At the final whistle Perotti collapsed in tears, consoled by his teammates.

Empoli 1-1 Salernitana

Cutrone 31 (E), Bonazzoli 76 (S)

Saved penalty: Perotti 84 (S)

Tightest relegation battle since Serie A went to 20 teams

May 11, 2022

For the first time since Serie A moved to 20 teams in 2004-05, we go into the final two rounds with nobody yet certain of relegation, while only five clubs have nothing to play for.

It’s wide open in the Scudetto race and for the Europa League and Conference League spots, but the relegation battle is particularly complicated.

There are six teams who could still go down and for the first time since the expansion to 20 sides in 2004-05, none of them are guaranteed relegation yet going into Week 36.

Sampdoria and Spezia need two points to be sure of safety, but it’s more complex for Salernitana, Genoa, Cagliari and Venezia.

Traditionally, the quota at which clubs celebrated their Serie A safety was 40 points, but that has dropped lower and lower in recent years.

As things stand, 35 points could be enough to guarantee a place in the top flight for next season.

It’s the lowest figure since Crotone, coached by Davide Nicola to come back from a seemingly impossible situation, finished at 34 points in 2016-17.

That doesn’t mean the sides at the bottom or terrible, but rather that things have evened out, because going into the last two rounds only five teams have nothing left to play for.

They are Hellas Verona, Torino, Bologna, Udinese and Empoli.

Head-to-head records could be decisive for Serie A relegation

May 9, 2022

Serie A goes into the final two rounds with six teams fighting to avoid the three relegation places, but how will it be decided if two or more sides finish level on points?

The situation could not be tighter, as Sampdoria and Spezia are on 33 points, Salernitana have 30, Cagliari 29, Genoa 28 and Venezia 25.

The Lagunari would’ve already been doomed if Salernitana had beaten Cagliari on Sunday, but as the Sardinians snatched a 99th-minute equaliser, they too can have some slender hope.

Should two teams finish level on points, their position would be decided by head-to-head record in results and then goals.

If those too are level, then it’d be overall goal difference in the league.

However, if three or more teams are level on points, a ‘Classifica Avulsa’ is drawn up.

That is effectively a mini-league between these teams facing each other, the side at the bottom going down.

Sampdoria have to hope Cagliari don’t improve, because they have a dire record against the Sardinians, losing both matches.

Cagliari and Salernitana are totally even in their head-to-head record, drawing both games 1-1.

Genoa won both their meetings with Cagliari, but picked up one point against Salernitana.

Serie A Liveblog: Verona-Milan, Salernitana-Cagliari

May 8, 2022

Join us for all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s four Serie A games, Spezia–Atalanta, Venezia–Bologna, Salernitana–Cagliari and potential Scudetto decider Verona–Milan.

Week 36 already provided plenty of drama on Friday and Saturday, with Inter and Genoa completing comeback wins over Empoli and Juventus respectively, while Sampdoria lost 2-0 away to Lazio.

We begin today at 11.30 UK time (10.30 GMT), as Spezia are not guaranteed Serie A safety yet and host Europe-chasing Atalanta, a game between two sides who are furious with recent refereeing decisions.

At 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT), expect emotional scenes as Sinisa Mihajlovic returns to the Bologna bench after leukaemia treatment when they visit rock bottom Venezia.

Relegation could well be decided at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT) at the Stadio Arechi when Salernitana and Cagliari go head-to-head.

Milan must beat Hellas Verona at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT) to retain their two-point lead at the top of the Serie A table, but already lost the Scudetto twice in ‘Fatal Verona’ and face the ghosts of history.

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Serie A Liveblog: Verona-Milan, Salernitana-Cagliari, Venezia-Bologna

May 8, 2022

Join us for all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s four Serie A games, Spezia–Atalanta, Venezia–Bologna, Salernitana–Cagliari and potential Scudetto decider Verona–Milan.

Week 36 already provided plenty of drama on Friday and Saturday, with Inter and Genoa completing comeback wins over Empoli and Juventus respectively, while Sampdoria lost 2-0 away to Lazio.

We begin today at 11.30 UK time (10.30 GMT), as Spezia are not guaranteed Serie A safety yet and host Europe-chasing Atalanta, a game between two sides who are furious with recent refereeing decisions.

At 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT), expect emotional scenes as Sinisa Mihajlovic returns to the Bologna bench after leukaemia treatment when they visit rock bottom Venezia.

Relegation could well be decided at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT) at the Stadio Arechi when Salernitana and Cagliari go head-to-head.

Milan must beat Hellas Verona at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT) to retain their two-point lead at the top of the Serie A table, but already lost the Scudetto twice in ‘Fatal Verona’ and face the ghosts of history.

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Probable Serie A line-ups: Torino-Napoli, Sassuolo-Udinese and Lazio-Samp

May 7, 2022

Check out the probable line-ups for today’s three Serie A games: Torino vs. Napoli, Sassuolo vs. Udinese and Lazio vs. Sampdoria.

We begin at 14.00 UK time at the Stadio Grande Torino, where Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli visit the Granata, who are unbeaten in six Serie A games. It’s the longest unbeaten streak after Milan‘s. Napoli have already secured a top-four finish and could stretch their lead over fourth-placed Juventus, who lost 2-1 against Genoa yesterday.

Sassuolo host Udinese at the Mapei Stadium at 17.00 UK time. Sassuolo haven’t won against the Friulani in the last seven games, while Udinese are the most prolific team in Serie A since the start of April with 18 goals scored. Udinese have won the last two Serie A games against Sassuolo and have never made it three in a row against the Neroverdi in history.

The last game of the day is in Rome and sees Lazio host Sampdoria at the Olimpico (19.45 UK time). Lazio haven’t lost two home Serie A games in a row since December 2020, while Samp haven’t beaten the Biancocelesti away since January 2005.

Probable Serie A line-ups

Torino vs. Napoli

Torino (3-4-2-1): Berisha; Izzo, Bremer, Rodriguez; Singo, Ricci, Pobega, Vojvoda; Praet, Brekalo; Belotti.

Napoli (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Anguissa, Fabian Ruiz; Lozano, Mertens, Insigne; Osimhen.

Sassuolo vs. Udinese

Sassuolo (4-2-3-1): Consigli; Muldur, Chiriches, Ferrari, Kykaiakopoulos; Lopez, Frattesi; Berardi, Raspadori, Traore; Scamacca.

Udinese (3-5-2): Silvestri; Becao, Marì, Perez; Molina, Pereyra, Walace, Makengo, Udogie; Deulofeu, Pussetto.

Lazio vs. Sampdoria

Lazio (4-3-3): Strakosha; Lazzari, Patric, Acerbi, Marusic; Milinkovic-Savic, Leiva, Luis Alberto; Anderson, Immobile, Zaccagni.

Samp (4-1-4-1): Audero; Bereszynski, Ferrari, Colley, Augello; Ekdal; Candreva, Rincon, Thorsby, Sabiri; Caputo.

Blessin: ‘You can’t write this screenplay, I feel 30 years older’

May 6, 2022

Genoa coach Alexander Blessin ‘feels 30 years older’ after the incredible comeback win over Juventus and admits you ‘can’t write this screenplay’ with the Domenico Criscito penalty.

It was a remarkable game at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Paulo Dybala putting Juve in front at the dawn of the second half and then hitting the woodwork, while a penalty was awarded to Juve and then revoked following a VAR on-field review.

“It’s really difficult to describe the feelings,” an emotional Blessin told Sky Sport Italia in English.

“We started not good, the first 20 minutes we dropped too deep, we got better, but we needed the players to believe. We made changes, I wanted more of a box-to-box player with deep movements.

Serie A | Genoa 2-1 Juventus: Criscito revives the Grifone

“After three minutes of the second half, you concede this goal and you think oh f***. You made a mistake. At this moment you have real problems, think ok, perhaps it wasn’t the best decision, but the players believe in the way we play and showed a great mentality.”

The extraordinary turnaround was enacted by Albert Gudmundsson and above all Criscito converting a last-gasp penalty, just days after the same Genoa legend saw his spot-kick saved in a 1-0 defeat to Sampdoria.

“The last 15 minutes was really unbelievable. You cannot write this screenplay, when you think we equalised 1-1, they had a big chance with Kean, we got the penalty. This is football, full of emotions.

“You see last week Mimmo not scoring the penalty, now he has the responsibility and it is unbelievable how much pressure is on his shoulders at this moment. Winning this game, you cannot say it’s not deserved. We tried everything, showed a really great mentality.

“For sure, we are still in this position, but we are close to the other teams and we are back on track.”

Criscito was utterly distraught after last week’s penalty save against Sampdoria, so how did Blessin help him through the week?

“You saw this week his training, his performance. I talked to him, told him head up, the next chance will come. Usually when you talk to the players, they don’t believe you, but I felt the sensation we can still reach this. He has this experience, this really great left foot and it was nice to see his performance today after last week.

“This is why we love football! Mind you, I feel 30 years older now…”