An elegant but resilient Sampdoria held a rampant and, at times, unlucky Juventus team in the first game of round five in Serie A. Chances, excitement but, unfotunately no goals...
Both teams came into this game needing points and they both left with one each as the spoils were shared at Marassi. Neither side was able to find a winner despite numerous chances being created at both ends.
First Half
Juventus got the game started at Marassi but it was Sampdoria who had the first real chance when Sissoko fouled Palombo but the free kick was wide.
Del Piero went down the other end as Juve broke out and his one-two with Molinaro resulted in the defender seeing the studs of Gastaldello's boot's.
The Samp stopper went into the book and Del Piero stepped up for the set piece, he brought a fine save out of Antonio Mirante, Nedved followed up on the re-bound but his drive went over.
It was a bright start by both teams as they searched for the early goal, with chances being created thick and fast at both ends. Antonio Cassano was proving to be a menace early on and he tried an outrageous back flick as he latched onto Stankevicius's through ball but Alex Manninger pushed it out.
The home side were playing with a five man midfield and the Bianconeri were struggling against the numbers. Walter Mazzarri's men were controlling the middle of the park and the pressed Juve back. The Old Lady had to revert to soaking up the pressure and breaking on the counter.
However, they lacked pace, with only Camoranesi offering some speed. Sammarco should have given Samp the lead when Cassano found him off the back of one of his trademark runs. However, Chiellini's perfectly timed challenge was enough to ensure the ball crossed the touch line and not the goal line.
Juventus went down the other end as Sissoko galloped forward. Nedved fed him perfectly and the Mali international set up Del Piero but the captain saw his effort go out off the post. Luck betrayed the away side this time as they kept huffing.
Juve were lucky not to go behind when Stankevicius had a free and unmarked header on goal. Manninger blamed his defence who seemed to have switched off on Cassano's free kick. The ball was whipped in with pace and just a few centimetres was the difference between miss and goal.
Both teams had their chances but neither could find the break through. Poulsen kept on giving the ball away for Juve and it didn't help matters as Claudio Ranieri watched in horror.
However, Mellberg saved the day with a perfectly timed challenge. Samp tried their luck from the resulting corner but Manninger punched clear to offer his side some respite.
Del Piero had a glorious chance down the other end but his hooked volley just went over the bar. It was an excellent game played at frantic pace with little between the teams. Both sides were organised and well disciplined and the game was played fairly overall with just a couple of silly challenges.
Second Half
The teams remained unchanged for the second half Samp began where they had left off. Cassano was outstanding and he tried his luck from a 35-yard free kick but it just went wide. It was a great effort and It's unlikely Manninger would have seen it had it been two inches inside his post.
It was the Del Piero to practice his set pieces after Nedved was hacked by Accardi but his shot was poor and lacked accuracy.
The game slowed down a little and both sides were cautious going forward. Samp looked more dangerous and Sammarco will be asking himself how he missed a glorious free header following Cassano's cross.
He should have given his side the lead. Juve kept banging a the door and they created several good chances but some poor finishing and the decision by Nedved to keep shooting from distance meant the scores stayed 0-0 as the half ticked on.
Juve were patient in their build up play but at times they were guilty of sitting a bit to deep which invited the pressure. Doria were well covered in midfield and Juve had to rely on working the ball into advanced positions as well as wing play.
The match was there to be lost rather than won as both teams struggled to take a lead. The game just seemed to fizzle out towards the end and it had a stop and start feel to it which seemed to spoil the excitement.
Teams:
Sampdoria -(3-5-1-1): Mirante, Luchini(Bottinelli), Gastaldello, Accardi, Stankevicius, Sammarco, Palombo(Dessena), Francheschini, Pieri, Delvecchio, Cassano.
Juventus -(4-4-2): Manninger, Grygera, Mellberg, Chiellini, Molinaro, Camoranesi, Poulsen, Sissoko, Nedved, Amauri, Del Piero(Iaquinta).
Goals: 0-0
Cards: Gastaldello(Sampdoria/Yellow), Luchini(Sampdoria/Yellow), Mellberg(Yellow/Juventus), Camoranesi(Yellow/Juventus)
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