Samp come up short against Torino

Sampdoria had an afternoon to forget at Marassi on Sunday as they were beaten 4-1 by Torino in Week 11 of Serie A. A brace from Andrea Belotti and goals from Iago Falque and Armando Izzo did for the Blucerchiati, despite Fabio Quagliarella getting one back halfway through the second half.

After an even opening period, Torino took a controversial lead on 13 minutes. With Edgar Barreto down injured and in need of attention, the visitors opted to continue playing and Belotti was able to head home from Falque’s cross. Marassi felt hard done by, especially when Barreto had to be replaced by Linetty seconds later, but it was no use: Torino had a 1-0 lead.

Dennis Praet looked to haul Doria level right away, but Nicolas Nkoulou got a touch on his shot to make it easy fodder for Salvatore Sirigu. Next to threaten for Samp was Gianluca Caprari, who – from a promising position on the left of the box – curled the ball just wide of the far post. Caprari turned provider minutes later, picking out Quagliarella on the right of the box, but the captain was unable to coordinate his feet and failed to make meaningful contact.

Doria had a decent shout for a penalty turned down on 39 minutes after Praet went down following apparent contact with Nkoulou, but the referee gestured for the Belgian to get to his feet. And to add to the feeling of injustice among the fans, Torino were awarded a spot kick of their own minutes later. Belotti – who was adjudged to have been brought down by Emil Audero – stepped up and found the back of the net for 2-0.

Marco Giampaolo sent on Gregoire Defrel in place of Riccardo Saponara early in the second half, but it was Torino who struck once more for 3-0. After a Lorenzo De Silvestri cross, Soualiho Meite teed up Iago Falque to volley home and put the result beyond doubt.

Or so it seemed. Three minutes after the hour mark, Samp were handed a golden opportunity to get a goal back after Praet was upended in the box by Daniele Baselli. Up stepped Quagliarella, only for Sirigu to save the captain’s initial effort. Yet Quagliarella showed great poise to pounce on the rebound, using his right foot to roll the ball onto his left and slot past the Torino keeper for 3-1.

Samp’s renaissance, however, was short lived. Audero was called into action to deny a Belotti volley with a wonderful reaction save, but there was nothing the Italian keeper could do when a Torino corner fell to Izzo in the Doria penalty box – the defender made no mistake in giving his side an unassailable 4-1 lead on 78 minutes.

Sampdoria 1-4 Torino (HT: 0-2)
Scorers: Belotti 12, pen. 43, Falque 56, Quagliarella 65, Izzo 78.

Sampdoria (4-3-1-2): Audero; Bereszynski, Tonelli, Andersen, Murru; Barreto (Linetty 14), Ekdal, Praet; Saponara (Defrel 53); Caprari (Kownacki 79), Quagliarella.
Subs not used: Rafael, Belec, Vieira, Sala, Ramirez, Jankto, Colley, Linetty, Tavares, Ferrari, Defrel, Kownacki.
Coach: Giampaolo.

Torino (3-5-2): Sirigu; Izzo, Nkoulou, Djidj; De Silvestri, Meite, Rincon (Soriano 84), Baselli, Aina; Falque (Berenguer 69), Belotti (Zaza 82).
Subs not used: Ichazo, Rosati, Lyanco, Lukic, Ansaldi, Edera, Moretti, Parigini, Bremer.
Coach: Frustalupi.

Referee: Rocchi.
Assistants: Del Giovane, Vivenzi.
Fourth official: Sacchi.
VAR: Irrati.
VAR assistant: Vuoto.

Yellow cards: Praet 11, Rincon 32, Ekdal 40, Meite 50.
Added time: 2 + 4 minutes.