Quagliarella goal earns precious and deserved win over Inter

For Sunday evening’s clash with Inter, Sampdoria boss Marco Giampaolo picked the same eleven players which started the derby win against Genoa.

The Blucerchiati started the game well; Fabio Quagliarella and Luis Muriel both had early efforts but neither managed to find the target. Inter threatened the Samp goal on 16 minutes, with Antonio Candreva forcing Christian Puggioni into a diving save. Doria responded well with Muriel playing in Quagliarella, but his shot was weak and easily collected by Samir Handanovic.

As the first half wore on, Samp were clearly on top and deserved to be leading. However, Candreva had another strike on 35 minutes, making Puggioni work once again and giving the Blucerchiati a stark warning to stay on their guard. Bruno Fernandes and Muriel both tried their luck but were unable to find the target, before Inter’s Marcelo Brozovic almost gave his side the lead, with a shot hitting the top of the bar. The Nerazzurri sought to make their spell of dominance pay, with Mauro Icardi and Brozovic both going close.

However, it was eventually Sampdoria that struck the decisive blow, right at the end of the first period. Fernandes played the ball to Karol Linetty whose touch inside the box fell perfectly for Quagliarella. The Samp forward made absolutely no mistake and stuck the ball away confidently, right in front of the vocal home support.

While the Blucerchiati may have expected an onslaught from their opponents in the second half, the home side were relatively comfortable. After 67 minutes, Inter threatened through Brozovic who did well to set up Icardi in the area. However, the Argentine’s shot was too high. Eder also blazed over, four minutes later, having found himself in a promising position.

Inter coach Frank de Boer decided to bring off Eder and Candreva, with Ivan Perisic and Rodrigo Palacio entering the fray. Meanwhile Giampaolo opted to replace Quagliarella with Ante Budimir. The Croatian striker almost repaid his coach’s faith, played in one on one against Handanovic, but his shot was straight at the Inter keeper.

Sampdoria continued to hold firm but came within inches of conceding, with Palacio hitting the woodwork deep into injury time. In the end, it was three points well-earned for Sampdoria.

Sampdoria 1-0 Internazionale (HT: 1-0)

Scorers: Quagliarella 44.

Sampdoria (4-3-1-2): Puggioni; Sala, Silvestre, Skriniar, Regini; Barreto, Torreira, Linetty; Fernandes; Quagliarella (Budimir 77), Muriel (Alvarez 78).
Subs not used: Krapikas, Tozzo, Amuzie, Eramo, Pereira, Schick, Krajnc, Praet, Cigarini, Djuricic.
Coach: Marco Giampaolo.

Internazionale (4-3-3): Handanovic; Ansaldi, Miranda, Murillo, Santon; Brozovic, Joao Mario, Banega; Candreva (Perisic 76), Icardi, Eder (Palacio 76).
Subs not used: Carrizo, Andreolli, Biabiany, Ranocchia, Gnoukouri, D’Ambrosio, Nagatomo, Miangue.
Coach: Frank de Boer.

Referee: Mazzoleni.
Assistants: Marrazzo and Peretti.
Fourth official: Paganessi.
Additional assistants: Guida and Mariani.

Yellow cards: Ansaldi 74, Miranda 75, Joao Mario 83; Sala 84.

Added time: 1 + 3 minutes.