Sampdoria-Naples 0-2: goals from Osimhen and Elmas

Naples starts again. Two to zero for Sampdoria, with one goal in each half – Osimhen and Elmas from a penalty in the second half -, against a Sampdoria that pays dearly for having played the entire second half (and eleven minutes of the first half) with the man in less for the unfortunate expulsion of Rincon in the first fraction. Stankovic’s team stops, once again. A match played in a particular atmosphere: first the chants, the banners, the tears for Vialli and Mihajlovic, the Sampdorians all on the pitch for the warm-up with the blucerchiata shirt and the nine on their back, Sinisa’s children together with his “little brother Stankovic on the sidelines for the minute of silence. But then there is the field, and the sentence was clear and final. Victory that weighs on the leaders, Samp that remains in limbo. Spalletti’s team has restarted, their legs and head restored to shine, and it wasn’t so obvious after the downturn in Milan against Inter just four days ago. Because the defeat at San Siro made noise and because today at Ferraris the emotional echo of the memory of the two greats who just passed away multiplied Sampdoria’s energies. Spalletti, who had promised and partly carried out a revolution, gave up Rrahmani, Olivera and Zielinski compared to the last game: inside Juan Jesus and Mario Rui in defense, with Elmas in place of Zielinski and usual 4-3-3, against a Samp that fielded only the new Murru on the left in defense having to compensate for the departure (for Naples) of Bereszynski.

First signal

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After a hundred seconds there is immediately the episode that could turn the game around: Murru runs shoulder to shoulder with Anguissa, before the Dorian defender’s stomp on the Cameroonian already on the ground: Abisso after a Var check goes to the monitor and concedes the disputed penalty from Samp. Politano’s left foot (6′) from the penalty spot ends up on the post deflected by Audero’s left hand. But the escaped danger exalts Sampdoria who pushes hard to the left, shoots with Lammers (out), then tries again with Gabbiadini. Napoli tries to take advantage of the speed of their attack, and always puts a midfielder under pressure on Sampdoria’s counterattacks. It was the best moment for the hosts, who despite the very high pressure from Spalletti’s team scared the guests. In the 12th minute Verre engages Meret for a corner on an assist from Lammers. Napoli responds with Elmas (saved).

The turning point

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Naples furore, because the guests have more quality, they push well on the left with Mario Rui, even if Sampdoria manages to react at times. Osimhen makes the elastic, goes to conquer a precious ball in the middle, starts again and slips into the Dorian defense on Mario Rui’s throw, overtaking Audero (19 ‘). Here the match changes: the very high pace penalizes Sampdoria, the 0-1 is the passport that Spalletti was waiting for to free the legs and mind of his Napoli. Kvaratskhelia breaks loose, Murillo takes a risk and stops him, before blocking Osimhen again in the 35th minute who fails to double. From then on, Napoli went under management, because Sampdoria lost its engine. Even more after Osimhen runs away to the right after having jumped Nuytinck and is knocked down by Rincon when he is about to enter the area and hit the net. Red for the Venezuelan, Samp in ten, immense spaces open up for Napoli, who come close to scoring the second goal with Kvaratskhelia (47’): beautiful diagonal, just off.

Reaction

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In the second half, Stankovic switched to a 4-4-1 formation, with Lammers as the lone striker, Djuricic in midfield in place of Gabbiadini and Zanoli, ex Napoli, making his debut in the Sampdoria shirt, while Spalletti restarted with Rrahmani in place of Kim, who came out as a precaution . But it is a Neapolitan monologue, because Napoli is in absolute management of the match, very good at moving between the lines and Sampdoria can do little with a forced renunciation attitude. Lammers is too isolated forward, and it is this canvas that accompanies the match for a long time in the second half. Samp low, Napoli with their effective ball lap. Lozano and Zielinski enter, Politano and Kvaratskhelia out, then Ndombele takes over Anguissa. Samp seems to have lost faith, even before ideas, because the man down is too strong a handicap against a healthy opponent. Lozano (25′) commits Audero, while Lobotka continues to act as a master in the middle of the field. After half an hour Stankovic advances Djuricic and switches to a 4-3-2, but the move doesn’t pay off and the only flaw that can be done to this Napoli of such quality is to manage the game. A risky attitude, even if Samp does not take a shot on goal. Then, in the 33rd minute after a check var for a touch of the hand by Vieira on a shot by Elmas, the referee concedes the second penalty to the visitors. Elmas made no mistake, two to zero and the game was over.