Sampdoria vs. Roma: Winners and Losers from Serie A Game
Sampdoria held Roma to a frustrating 0-0 draw at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa on Saturday night, despite the visitors having several chances to take the lead and a vital three points.
The result means more frustration for the Giallorossi as they failed to bounce back from their 1-7 home defeat midweek to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. It also widens the gap between them and Juventus at the top of the table—and cements Sampdoria's credentials as a force to be reckoned with in Serie A this season.
The Blucerchiati remain unbeaten so far and will now go into a difficult run of fixtures against Inter, Fiorentina and Milan brimming with confidence.
The Lupi, meanwhile, will have to pick themselves up quickly before their midweek game with Cesena.
Winners: Juventus
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Juventus won't believe their luck. After they inexplicably failed to beat Sassuolo last week, dropping two points and allowing Roma to return to within touching distance of the top, their slip-up has been cancelled out by a similar stumble from their rivals.
Sampdoria have been surprisingly solid so far this season, but this was still a game that Rudi Garcia will have expected to win. His side had almost two thirds of the possession and more than twice as many shots as the home side. They really should have done better.
Winners: The Chasing Pack
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After Juventus, the biggest winners from this game are the chasing pack behind the Lupi.
Napoli, in particular, have been disappointing so far this season, but thanks to Roma and Samp playing out a draw, they're closer than they might have been to the Champions League places.
The gap for Rafa Benitez's men is still worryingly big for so early in the season, but the draw allows Milan, Udinese and even Roma's city rivals Lazio to edge closer to the top of the table and there's no doubt that getting within touching distance of the leading teams will be a huge confidence boost to Pippo Inzaghi's Rossoneri.
Roma really can't afford more slip-ups like this, because every dropped point is an extra shot of motivation to those nipping at their heels.
Winners and Losers: Sampdoria
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A hard-earned draw against one of the favourites for the Scudetto is hardly a failure, but Sampdoria might have gotten more from this game.
A win would have put them in second place in the league—an incredible achievment for such a small side, even if it's early in the season.
On the other hand, Sinisa Mihajlovic's side successfully held the normally prolific Roma to a scoreless stalemate in Genoa, and in doing so sent a strong message to the rest of Serie A.
This season's opening fixtures have been relatively kind to Samp. Aside from the Derby della Lanterna, which they won 0-1, this game with the Giallorossi was the first time they've met a side from the top half of the table, and was the only game they've played so far against a real heavyweight.
By holding on to a draw, Mihajlovic has proven that his team deserve to be towards the top end of the table. There's still a long way to go in the season and they have little hope of holding on to a Champions League place, but very few sides in Italy will draw with the Lupi and in that sense, this is a valuable result.
Loser: Rudi Garcia
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This isn't the response Rudi Garcia will have wanted from his side after their humbling loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, and the French tactician will now have to work very hard to make sure this week's couple of set-backs don't turn into a more serious malaise.
Competing on two fronts has complicated things for Roma, and it isn't easy for Garcia to rotate his squad effectively thanks to a growing list of injuries and suspensions.
As impressive as Alessandro Florenzi can be as a wide attacker, he's no replacement for Miralem Pjanic in midfield and the Bosnian was sorely missed in the centre until he was eventually introduced in the second half.
Roma immediately looked better with Pjanic on the pitch, finally finding some rythm and generally looking more cohesive. Florenzi also improved once he was allowed to return to his preferred role in the final third.
Similarly, Maicon is integral to the Giallorossi's counter attack and is a huge loss whenever he's unavailable, even if Vasilis Torosidis acquitted himself well enough at right-back.
Left-back is also a huge concern. Ashley Cole has yet to make the impact expected of him and Jose Holebas doesn't look capable of excelling at this level. The Greek is an experienced international but offers little real quality at the back or going forward—and based on his performances so far fans are right to wonder why the 30-year-old was signed on a three-year contract this summer.
The forward line used against Samp was heavy on style and pace, but perhaps a little light on directness. Leaving Mattia Destro on the bench when he's in form and didn't play against Bayern was a confusing decision and it might be time for the 23-year-old to get a prolonged run in the starting XI. He offers something completely different to Gervinho and Francesco Totti, and that might have made the difference had he been given long enough in Genoa.
Winner: Davide Astori
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Davide Astori was the best player on the pitch at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
The centre-back, on loan from Cagliari, currently has plenty of competition for a starting place with the Giallorossi from Kostas Manolas and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa. And with Leandro Castan still to come back from injury, the Italian could easily have found himself somewhere down the pecking order following his summer move.
Instead, he's been consistently excellent whenever called upon by Rudi Garcia and has every right now to consider himself worthy of a regular start. And if he keeps performing like this, it won't be long before he's brought back into the Italy fold, either.
Winner: Sergio Romero
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If Astori was the stand-out performer for Roma, Sergio Romero was the man who made the difference for Sampdoria.
The Argentine stopper has seen limited game time this season thanks to Emiliano Viviano, but still showed all of the quality you'd expect from a top-level international goalkeeper against the Giallorossi.
Romero was called upon several times on the night and made a number of fine saves, but it was his close-range stop against Florenzi just before the Roman's substitution that made the biggest impression.
Samp have still yet to lose this season and Viviano and Romero have only conceded four goals between them. Mihajlovic is lucky to have such fine options between the posts.
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