Super Samp down Juventus at raucous Marassi

Sampdoria condemned Juventus to a thrilling 3-2 defeat on Sunday to continue their stunning run of form at Marassi and move onto 26 points for the season.

After a goalless first half, Marco Giampaolo’s men steamed into a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Cristian Zapata, Lucas Torreira and Gian Marco Ferrari to send the Doria into raptures. Nerves were set jangling when Gonzalo Higuain pulled one back from the spot in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, with Paula Dybala adding another seconds later, but there was to be no denying Samp a famous win over the champions.

Juventus had started the game the brighter, with Higuain going close on several occasions in the early exchanges only for Emiliano Viviano and Matias Silvestre to place their bodies in the line of fire each time. Samp were struggling to gain a foothold in the game and there was another blow to come in the form of an injury to Dennis Praet, who had to be replaced by Karol Linetty on 28 minutes.

The best chance of the first half fell to Juan Cuadrado, who – after receiving a fine sliderule pass from Higuain – blasted the ball goalward from point-blank range only to watch it skim off Viviano and harmlessly out of play.

Juve picked up where they left off in the second half – fired up after seeing a penalty shout waved away just before the break – but it was Sampdoria who took an unlikely lead after seven minutes. The champions failed to clear their lines despite having several chances to do so, with the ball eventually falling for Zapata to send a looping header over Wojciech Szczesny and into the back of the net.

The visitors streamed forward, but their efforts became increasingly fraught as Daniele Rugani and Sami Khedira were both shown yellows for preventing Samp breaks. Massimiliano Allegri sent on Paulo Dybala for Federico Bernardeschi as he searched for a way back into the game, but there were more dark clouds on the horizon for his team.

On 72 minutes, Torreira pounced on a loose ball just outside the Juve box, tucking away a fine effort to make it 2-0 and spark pandemonium at Marassi. And yet, unbelievably, it was about to get even better for Giampaolo’s men. Seven minutes after Torreira’s second, Juventus failed to deal with another Samp move, leaving Ferrari unmanned in the box to slot home and hand his team a 3-0 lead.

Samp were closing in on an historic result, with a matter of minutes left to hold on. Yet Juve were handed a lifeline in the first minute of added time, as Ivan Strinic conceded a penalty which Higuain stroked away with ease. And what was irritation at the loss of the clean sheet gave way to genuine concern seconds later, when Dybala lashed home to put Juve within a goal of an unthinkable comeback.

But this Sampdoria team are not for collapsing. The last few, terse minutes passed by without event and, to the delight of almost everyone inside Marassi on this exhilarating day, Samp’s seventh straight home win was finally confirmed.

Sampdoria 3-2 Juventus (HT: 0-0)
Scorers: Zapata 52, Torreira 72, Ferrari 79, Higuain pen. 90, Dybala 90+4.

Sampdoria (4-3-1-2): Viviano; Bereszynski, Silvestre, Ferrari, Strinic; Barreto (Verre 74), Torreira, Praet (Linetty 28); Ramírez; Quagliarella (Caprati 79), Zapata.
Subs not used: Puggioni, Tozzo, Sala, Alvarez, Regini, Capezzi, Murru, Kownacki.
Coach: Marco Giampaolo.

Juventus (4-2-3-1): Szscesny; Lichtsteiner, Rugani, Chiellini, Asamoah; Pjanic (Matuidi 80), Khedira; Cuadrado (D. Costa 72), Bernardeschi (Dybala 62), Mandzukic; Higuain.
Subs not used: Buffon, Pinsoglio, De Sciglio, Benatia, Marchisio, Alex Sandro, Barzagli, Howedes, Sturaro.
Coach: Allegri.

Referee: Guida.
Assistants: Preti, Carbone.
Fourth official: Pinzani.
VAR: Giacomelli.
VAR assistant: Marrazzo.

Yellow cards: Bernardeschi 14, Quagliarella 54, Rugani 59, Khedira 63, Ferrari 63, Linetty 75;
Added time: 2 + 5 minutes.