Sampdoria condemned a hapless Genoa side to their fifth consecutive Serie A loss on Tuesday evening as they prevailed 3-2 winners in the Derby Della Lanterna to recommence the Serie A following the Christmas break.
The inevitable product of passionate fans and pyrotechnics saw a four minute delay in play just 30 seconds into the match.
In a match that ebbed in flowed in the opening quarter of an hour, it was Genoa that did most of the attacking in the first 10 minutes culminating in an Armando Izzo header that flew agonisingly wide of the left upright.
However it didn’t take long for Sampdoria to convert their brief period of dominance into a goal as a set piece straight from the training ground put Roberto Soriano clean through on goal as he fired his volley into the bottom corner.
It took Sampdoria’s Eder to reignite the match following a lull in proceedings as he sent a well placed shot into the bottom corner on 38 minutes.
The game was put beyond reasonable doubt three minutes after the restart as Soriano capped of a brilliant counter attack from Blucerchiati emphatically slamming the ball into the roof of the net from 15 yards for his second of the evening.
Despite a late Genoa resurgence instigated by a quick fire brace from frontman Leandro Pavoletti, Sampdoria held on to secure the derby win.
Counter-attacking football over possession
While the emergence and dominance of “tiki-taka” football over the past decade or so has put somewhat of a blight on the counter attacking style of football that Italians have traditionally adopted as their own, Sampdoria’s performance served not only as proof of it’s efficiency, but as a massive leap in the direction of erasing the underdog status associated with the tactic.
Going into half time only having 40% of possession and almost 100 completed passes less than their opponents, for a return of more shots on target and a 2-0 lead, flies the flag high and proud for the often stigmatic connotation associated with direct, counter attacking football.
With Euro 2016 all but 5 months away, perhaps this is something to keep in the back of the mind for one Antonio Conte?
Genoa’s quantity over quality
Genoa’s approach in attack sees them immediately hit the ball wide, consequently resulting in a staggering 36 crosses with only 8 being met by an attacker. Contrarily, Sampdoria opting for a more direct approach, hit 8 crosses with 4 of them hitting a target.
With this loss Genoa make it 5 defeats in a row in Serie A, despite outnumbering their opponents in crosses in 4 out of 5 of those fixtures; compounded by the fact that Pavoletti’s late brace rewarded Genoa with their first multiple goalscoring performance since November. A combination of predictability and a lack of attacking prowess could explain why Griffoni find themselves 2 points away from the drop zone.
Cassano’s still got it
Controversy and Antonio Cassano seem to go together like peas and carrots and, while more often than not, his personality proves more of a hassle than his worth, the 33 year old proved tonight that he’s still capable of making a difference in the Serie A.
With two assists as well as an indirect involvement in Eder’s goal, Cassano had a role to play right up until he was replaced by Luis Muriel on 76 minutes, duly picking up the Man of the Match award in the process.
While it may seem too little too late for an Italian cap for Euro ’16, performances like that are sure to go a long way in, at very least, staking his claim for contention.
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