Samp pay for slow start as season opener ends in defeat
This was not how Marco Giampaolo and his side hoped to commence the 2018/19 season. The Blucerchiati’s trip to the Dacia Arena ended in a narrow 1-0 defeat, with Rodrigo De Paul’s first-half goal proving the difference.
Having seen their first game of the season postponed, following the tragic collapse of the Ponte Morandi almost two weeks ago, Doria simply took too long to get started in this first match of the league campaign. They handed the initiative to Udinese, who for their part came out of the blocks quickly.
Within ten minutes the home side took the lead. Seko Fofana broke forward at pace, playing a low ball across the penalty area to find De Paul, who calmly created space for shot before firing beyond Emil Audero into the bottom corner.
It was thanks to the goalkeeper that Samp managed to stay in the contest. He managed to deny Kevin Lasagna on two occasions, the second from close range, as well as Valon Behrami and Darwin Machis before the first period came to a close.
Having ended the first half with no shots on goal, the pressure was on Samp to up the ante in their hunt for an equaliser. Gregoire Defrel went as close as anyone just 7 minutes into the second period, striking the post with a powerful left-foot effort.
Giampaolo’s changes, which saw Riccardo Saponara, Albin Ekdal, Dawid Kownacki enter the fray, gave new impetus to the away side, who finally put the Udinese defence to work after a lethargic first 60 minutes. While Simone Scuffet was put to work, most notably by Karol Linetty, the home defence was able to hold out for a win and leave Samp to pick up the pieces after a difficult first outing of the season.
Udinese 1-0 Sampdoria (HT: 1-0)
Scorer: De Paul 9.
Udinese (4-3-3): Scuffet; Stryger, Ekong, Nuytinck, Samir; Fofana, Behrami (Opoku 90+3), Mandragora; Machis (D’Alessandro 76), Lasagna (Teodorczyk 66), De Paul.
Subs not used: Musso, Nicolas, Wague, Pezzella, Vizeu, Ter Avest, Pontisso, Pussetto, Barak.
Coach: Velázquez.
Sampdoria (4-3-1-2): Audero; Bereszynski, Andersen, Colley, Murru; Linetty, Barreto, Jankto (Ekdal 70); Ramírez (Saponara 59); Quagliarella (Kownacki 74), Defrel.
Subs not used: Rafael, Belec, Vieira, Sala, Leverbe, Ferrari, Tonelli, Stijepovic, Rolando.
Coach: Giampaolo.
Referee: La Penna (Roma 1).
Assistants: Longo (Paola) and Tasso (La Spezia).
Fourth official: Minelli (Varese).
VAR: Giacomelli (Trieste).
Assistant VAR: De Meo (Foggia).
Yellow cards: Bereszynski 26, Ramirez 57, Murru 67, Nuytinck 86.
Added time: 0 + 5 minutes.
