Samp beaten as Juve crowned champions

Sampdoria made the trip to Turin knowing that Juventus could clinch the Serie A title with a win and while Claudio Ranieri’s troops produced a respectable performance and deserved more on the night, they were ultimately unable to stop the Bianconeri from sealing a ninth consecutive domestic league success after a 2-0 victory at the Allianz Stadium.

The first half was an even and physical affair, with both sides creating openings aplenty, but Samp were made to pay for their wastefulness in front of goal.

With half-time on the horizon, the hosts called upon a free-kick routine straight off the training ground which saw Miralem Pjanic set Cristiano Ronaldo up with a low pass that the Portuguese forward was able to hit first time into the corner from just inside the area.

The visitors carved out plenty of openings in the second half, but the likes of Fabio Quagliarella, Manolo Gabbiadini and Gaston Ramirez were unable to convert any of them. With a quarter of the game remaining, Emil Audero spilled Ronaldo’s shot and Federico Bernardeschi pounced on the rebound to all but secure the title for the Old Lady.

Morten Thorsby was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Pjanic with ten minutes left on the clock, and with that, any realistic hopes of a Samp fightback were extinguished. Ronaldo had a chance to double his personal tally for the evening as stoppage time approached, but he thumped his penalty against the bar after Alex Sandro had been upended by Fabio Depaoli.

Sampdoria will be looking to make amends on Wednesday evening when they host AC Milan at the Marassi, while knowing that there are plenty of positives to take from the performance against the newly crowned Serie A champions.

Juventus 2-0 Sampdoria

Scorers: Ronaldo 45+7, Bernardeschi 67.

Juventus (4-3-3): Szczesny; Danilo (Bernardeschi 65), Bonucci, De Ligt (Rugani 79), Alex Sandro; Rabiot, Pjanic (Bentancur 79), Matuidi; Cuadrado, Dybala (Higuain 85), Ronaldo.
Subs not used: Pinsoglio, Buffon, Ramsey, Demiral, Olivieri, Muratore, Zanimacchia.
Coach: Sarri.

Sampdoria (4-4-2): Audero; Tonelli, Yoshida, Chabot (Leris 22), Augello; Depaoli, Thorsby, Linetty, Jankto (Gabbiadini 73); Ramirez (Maroni 90+1), Quagliarella.
Subs not used: Seculin, Falcone, Bonazzoli, Askildsen, La Gumina, Ferrari, Murru, Rocha, Bertolacci.
Coach: Ranieri.

Referee: Fourneau (Rome).
Assistants: Giallatini (Rome) and Costanzo (Orvieto).
Fourth official: Piccinini (Forli).
VAR: Banti (Livorno).
AVAR: Alassio (Imperia).

Booked: Pjanic 45, Tonelli 45+6, Jankto 66, Bernardeschi 69, Cuadrado 80, Rabiot 85, Depaoli 88.

Sent off: Thorsby for a second bookable offence 77.

Stoppage time: 6+3.

Pitch: Good condition.