Chievo punish Samp for poor second-half showing

Having hoped the international break would help the Blucerchiati refresh and put their poor league form behind them, they were punished for a lacklustre second-half display at the Bentegodi and their losing run extends to three straight games.

Saturday’s opponents Chievo came out of the blocks quickly, with Mariusz Stepinski threatening after just 22 seconds, but Sampdoria gained a foothold in the game and were superior in the first half.

Gianluca Caprari went close on 6 minutes, forcing Stefano Sorrentino into a double save, and almost set up Fabio Quagliarella to open the scoring before the 15-minute mark. The Samp captain had another chance on 20 minutes, having been well found by Duvan Zapata, but his acrobatic effort failed to threaten the Chievo goal.

The strike partners were involved in the opener, which came on 26 minutes. Zapata was fouled in the area and Samp were awarded a penalty kick. Quagliarella made no mistake with his spot kick, firing high into the top corner and giving Sorrentino no chance.

The hosts came out after the break with renewed impetus and were on the front foot from the outset, however they did not cause Emiliano Viviano too many problems in the early exchanges.

The Samp keeper was beaten shortly after the hour mark, however, as Emanuele Giaccherini’s cross from the left was met by Lucas Castro, whose powerful downward header brought his side level. The forward was given too much time and space to finish.

Chievo did not let up and pushed forward for a winner. They edged in front thanks to substitute Perparim Hetemaj, whose in-swinging cross from the left deceived everyone and beat Viviano. The hosts were made to wait a few moments as the referee checked that no foul had been committed in the build-up to the goal, after the VAR’s intervention.

After a poor second-half display, Doria did get a chance to salvage a point when Ricky Alvarez was sent through on goal, but Sorrentino denied his near-post effort. Sampdoria’s difficult spell continues.

ChievoVerona 2-1 Sampdoria (HT: 0-1)
Scorers: Quagliarella 26 (pen), Castro 62, Hetemaj 79.

ChievoVerona (4-4-2): Sorrentino; Cacciatore, Tomovic, Bani, Gobbi; De Paoli (Hetemaj 78), Castro, Radovanovic, Giaccherini (Birsa 74); Inglese, Stepinski.
Subs not used: Seculin, Confiente, N. Rigoni, Gamberini, Gaudino, Leris, Cesar, Pucciarelli, Pellissier, Meggiorini.
Coach: Rolando Maran.

Sampdoria (4-3-1-2): Viviano; Sala, Silvestre, Regini, Murru; Praet, Torreira, Linetty; Caprari; Zapata (Ramírez 57), Quagliarella (Alvarez 74).
Subs not used: Belec, Tozzo, Andersen, Ferrari, Stijepovic, Verre, Capezzi.
Coach: Marco Giampaolo.

Referee: Orsato (Schio).
Assistants: Di Fiore (Aosta) and Manganelli (Valdarno).
Fourth official: Chiffi (Padova).
VAR: Di Bello (Brindisi).
VAR assistant: Valeriani (Ravenna).
Yellow cards: Tomovic 31, De Paoli 57, Regini 65, Bani 84, Torreira 86.
Added time: 0 + 5 minutes.