Sampdoria are today relegated into Serie B after succumbing to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Palermo, leading to emotional scenes at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris at the final whistle. It was a cruel result, with the hosts being on top for the majority of the game.
Sampdoria started the brighter of the two, and their first chance came just eight minutes in, when Jonathan Biabiany fired over after Massimo Maccarone headed back towards the edge of the penalty area into his path.
Maccarone is a former Palermo player, and almost came back to haunt his old team when he dribbled around Benussi but was forced into a tight angle by Ezequiel Muñoz and fired harmlessly wide.
The Blucerchiati onslaught continued, and three minutes later Fernando Tissone did well to step inside of Fabio Liverani and drill a shot from the edge of the Palermo area, which whistled low past Benussi’s right post.
Former Inter man Biabiany used his pace to work some space for himself just past the fifteen minute mark, but he dragged his shot just wide of the Palermo goal as Samp continued to bang on the door which just wouldn’t open.
It appeared that Sampdoria finally broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark when the ball found Nicola Pozzi to tap in at the far post, but the goal was incorrectly chalked off by the linesman leading to the striker furiously shouting at the assistant.
It was a game which Samp seemed to be in control of, Palermo had posed very little attacking threat with Javier Pastore on the bench, but with the host’s recent form you sensed that it was too good to be true. And it was.
Right on the stroke of half-time a beautiful touch from Josip Ili?i? found Fabrizio Miccoli in space inside the Sampdoria penalty area, for the Lecce-born skipper to slot home his ninth of the season and help his hometown club stay within touching distance of Serie A safety, in a cruel twist of fate for an impressive Samp.
However it didn’t take them long to equalize after the break, when a corner was flicked on by Gastaldello, looping high over Benussi’s goal, before being headed in by Biabiany, the referee adjudging that the Rosanero keeper wasn’t impeded in the process.
The momentum swung Sampdoria’s way once more, and Guberti hit a fierce right-footed shot from the edge of the area only for it to be parried by a diving Benussi at full-stretch.
With little under fifteen minutes remaining, Nicola Pozzi had his second goal of the game chalked off, only this time it was a correct decision by the linesman, when he prodded home a Biabiany effort from an offside position.
With il Doria knowing that they needed a goal to stay in the division, they began to push men forward and almost paid the price when a sliding Zsolt Laczkó came to the rescue to prevent a certain goal from Mauricio Pinilla.
Palermo got closer and closer with Muñoz heading wide and Hernandez prodding a shot just wide of the far post, before finally breaking the deadlock and confirming the relegation of Sampdoria to Serie B, when a three-on-one break ended in a goal from substitute Pinilla.
There were devastated faces around the Marassi come the final whistle with passionate captain Angelo Palombo breaking down in tears at the end of the game. After a fantastic season last year which saw Samp reach the dizzying heights of the Champions League, they are now shockingly relegated to the second tier of Italian football for the first time since 2000.
As for Lecce, they can breathe a sigh of relief knowing they are safe going into the final round of games this season after their 2-0 win at Bari today. Arrivedercci, Samp!
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