Sampdoria produce stellar comeback to see off Roma

This was a game where everything came together for Marco Giampaolo and his men, who produced a truly outstanding performance to pick up a thoroughly-deserved three points against Roma. Despite falling behind twice in the game, the Blucerchiati found it within themselves to keep fighting at both ends of the pitch and were amply rewarded.

The match did not get off to a great start for the home side, as Sampdoria were hit with a real set back after less than five minutes. Roma’s Emerson fired a fierce diagonal shot from the left-hand side of the box which Christian Puggioni did well to stop. Unfortunately, he parried the ball to the feet of Bruno Peres who had the easiest of finishes to give his side the lead.

Edin Dzeko missed a fantastic opportunity to make it two after 10 minutes, heading straight at the Samp keeper after Diego Perotti’s cross. But Samp held firm and were threatening in an attacking sense.  Luis Muriel responded almost instantly, fashioning a presentable opening but opted to pass rather than shoot. The Colombian also played in Bruno Fernandes for a one-on-one but he was unable to get the better of Wojciech Szczesny.

However, the Blucerchiati did not let up and they were rewarded for their persistence on 21 minutes. After Luis Muriel showed pace and guile on the right-hand side, his low cross found Dennis Praet in the middle of the penalty box. Running onto the ball the Belgian did well to tuck the ball away under pressure from the Roma defence.

It was a well-deserved equaliser for Doria, who were sure not to rest on their laurels, pushing forward to get their noses in front before half time. Giampaolo will certainly have been the happier of the two managers after the first 45 minutes.

Following the half time break, it was Roma who started more brightly, showing greater fight than in the first period. The visitors had to wait until 66 minutes to retake the lead. Perotti played in Emerson down the left and his first-time cross was met by Dzeko, who finished low down to Puggioni’s right.

However the result was by no means safe and within ten minutes the match had been turned on its head.

Around five minutes after the Bosnian’s goal, a poor clearance from the Roma back line was launched back into the penalty box by Matias Silvestre. A header from Karol Linetty was flicked on by Muriel into substitute Patrik Schick, who took the ball on his chest, turned and fired past Szczesny to equalise with under 20 minutes still to play.

Just as when they drew level in the first half, Giampaolo’s men showed no signs of settling for a point. This time their tenacity paid dividends.

Just two minutes later, Muriel gave Doria the lead with a thumping free kick from just outside the area. His effort took a deflection off the wall and left the Roma keeper stranded; he could do nothing to stop the Colombian giving Samp a 3-2 lead.

Luciano Spalletti, blessed with a star-studded bench, did his best to affect the game. Stefan El Shaarawy and Francesco Totti entered the fray and each had an impact on proceedings.

The Samp faithful were certainly made to suffer as their team held out, Puggioni being forced into action on a number of occasions, but lifted the roof off the Marassi after the final whistle as Doria celebrated a famous win over the Giallorossi.

Sampdoria 3-2 Roma (HT: 1-1)
Scorers: Peres 5, Praet 21, Dzeko 66, Schick 71, Muriel 73.

Sampdoria (4-3-1-2): Puggioni; Bereszynski, Silvestre, Skriniar, Regini; Barreto, Torreira, Praet (Linetty 62); Fernandes (Schick 69); Muriel (Djuricic 84), Quagliarella.
Unused subs: Krapikas, Tozzo, Dodô, Alvarez, Palombo, Pavlovic, Cigarini, Budimir.
Coach: Marco Giampaolo.

Roma (3-4-2-1): Szczesny; Rüdiger, Fazio, Vermaelen (Paredes 87); Peres (El Shaarawy 77), Strootman, De Rossi (Totti 78), Emerson; Nainggolan, Perotti; Džeko.
Unused subs: Lobont, Alisson, J. Jesus, Seck, M. Rui, Gerson, Manolas.
Coach: Luciano Spalletti.

Referee: Mazzoleni (Bergamo).
Assistants: Barbirati (Ferrara) and La Rocca (Ercolano).
Fourth official: Meli (Parma).
Additional assistants: Rocchi (Florence) and Maresca (Naples).

Yellow cards: Torreira 29, Vermaelen 51, Puggioni 60, Rudiger 72, Totti 90+1.
Added time: 0 + 4 minutes.