In Turin a 6-goal thriller went on as Juventus defeated Sampdoria. Sampdoria made an amazing comeback with 2 goals in 2 minutes but Juve scored more to win the game.
Five changes were made by Juventus from Thursday’s victory over Freiburg, some of which were forced after injuries to Paul Pogba and teammates Angel Di Maria, Federico Chiesa, and Alex Sandro in the Europa League match. For his first league start since November, Bonucci was among those added, along with Perin, De Sciglio, Barrenechea, and Fagioli.
Sampdoria also made five changes from the team that last played Salernitana, drawing 0-0. Stankovic recruited Turk, Gunter, Leris, Gabbiadini, and Djuricic in the hopes that a revamped forward line will end their offensive woes.
Djuricic was caught by Barrenechea as the two men dove into a 50-50 challenge. The Samp player cried out in discomfort, but it was a sincere attempt to win the ball, and Barrenechea’s punishment was only a foul.
Fagioli swung a corner kick into the area after Juve won a corner on the right. Sampdoria was able to clear their lines after the ball dropped among a group of players close to the penalty spot.
Gabbiadini raced clean through on goal after a long ball over the top, giving the goal-averse visitors what should have been the lead. The striker advanced on goal and planned to finish with his left foot, but he mishit it and it swerved wide of the right post. Samp have only managed to score 11 league goals this season as a result.
Sampdoria paid the price for their early errors as Juve profited from a set-piece. The Bianconeri successfully defended a corner kick to the left, which Kostic swung onto Bremer’s head. The goalkeeper’s header skittered up into the top-left corner as the defender easily outjumped Winks.
Fagioli attempted to combine with Miretti in the right-hand channel for Juve, but his pass was overhit and fell short. Samp suddenly had a slightly ragged appearance; things need to calm down.
Prior to the Juve break, Leris saw a shot at close range blocked. Kostic attempted to find a runner with a left cutback, but none of his teammates saw it, allowing Sampdoria to recover possession of the ball.
Rabiot slid to the edge of the area and attempted to set up a teammate, but he lost control of the ball. Given that Samp were backing off and he had room and time, the France international may have been better off taking the shot himself.
This time, Samp was able to round the corner without incident, but their solace was fleeting as Miretti whipped it back into the danger zone. At the back post, Rabiot was waiting, and he met the ball with a forceful header that went into the top-right corner. Samp was in serious trouble as Juventus had already scored twice.
In 31st minute, Augello scored in the upper-right corner. Gabbiadini’s shot was blocked during a rare Samp attack, but the ball falls nicely for Augello, who uncharacteristically scores past Perin.
Soon after the kickoff, Sampdoria gained possession and got past Zanoli. As Djuricic ghosted in to deflect a sidefooted finish into the bottom-left corner, he scampered to the byline and cut it back for him. What a comeback by the guests, who scored twice in a span of just two minutes.
Danilo was fouled by Rincon after slid in and staying down while claiming to have been hit in the face. He received little pity from the referee, who also gave him a yellow card.
Finally, Juventus was able to apply some pressure, but De Sciglio’s right-wing cross was deflected. Fagioli attempted to pick out Vlahovic as the Bianconeri retaliated, but Nuytinck intervened with a clearing header.
In his first involvement, Cuadrado charged forward to take the lead in a corner. The initial kick was deflected for the subsequent one, which breaks for Fagioli but is blocked from scoring.
Fagioli was given space by Miretti, and Augello bundled the midfielder over just outside the penalty area. When given a free kick in a position that favours a left-footer, Vlahovic appeared interested. Although Vlahovic hit it low, the wall still did its job. After Juventus won a corner on the left side, Bremer’s header from the corner was deflected wide.
Juventus tried to play the ball out from behind while Samp applied high pressure. Bremer made a mistake as a result of being under pressure, giving up a throw-in that was launched into the area from where Juventus cleared their lines.
Rincon’s left-wing cross was attacked by Leris, who narrowly missed Perin’s right-hand post with his header. The visitors were pressing Allegri’s team after they withstood a brief period of pressure right after the half.
Rabiot scored with a beautiful volley as the Sampdoria players argued for handball. The French midfielder began the move with a brisk run before Fagioli found him. He brought the ball down and scored with his left foot, but it’s possible that he also used his arm to control it. The VAR was looking into the matter. Much to their visitors’ protestations, Juve’s lead did hold. Rabiot did appear to be controlling it with his arm, but the VAR officials were of the opposite opinion.
Sampdoria’s situation got worse when Cuadrado drove into the box and enticed Augello to challenge. He was knocked down by a Samp player, and the referee indicated the penalty to Juventus. Vlahovic missed the penalty by side-footing it against the left-hand post, and Rabiot, who had a chance to complete his hat-trick, missed the rebound.
A left-wing free kick was earned by Sampdoria and was launched into the area of goal before being cleared by Juventus. Bremer accidentally hit Amione in the face with his arm, but Amione stayed down in the box and quickly got back up.
Excellent defence by Amione. The Sampdoria player dived to the ground to stop Vlahovic’s volley after Rabiot set him up with a deft flick. The Juventus striker eventually had the offside flag raised against him.
Turk deflected Cuadrado’s shot off the woodwork to prevent Juventus from scoring a fourth. Cuadrado’s 20-yard effort was really moving, but the Samp goalkeeper was up to the challenge and turned it away.
Soule scored his first goal as a senior, turning a rebound into a gaping goal to give Juventus the three points. Kostic did well to cross for the unfortunate Vlahovic, whose header was deflected by Turk onto the crossbar. However, Soule nodded the ball into an open net at the perfect moment because he was in the right place.
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