Sampdoria were close to registering their first win of the 2013-14 Serie A season but a controversial decision by referee Andrea Gervasoni denied the Doriani the possibility of getting all three points against Torino.
Gervasoni disallowed Nicola Pozzi’s goal at the end of the first half and claimed that he blew the whistle for half-time. As the saying goes, “A 2-0 lead is the hardest to defend.” Maybe if the goal stood, Sampdoria could have held onto the win or improved on the lead.
The Blucerchiati played their best match of the season so far in the 2-2 draw against Torino and Delio Rossi’s variant of the 3-4-3 formation made a difference.
Defensively Samp left gaps at the back, especially in the second half but offensively the Doriani pressed their opponents, they were fluid in possession and they possessed a threat down the middle and on the wings.
Rossi had used the 3-4-2-1 formation a couple of times this season but for the Torino match, the Samp coach used an attacking trident containing Gianluca Sansone, Nicola Pozzi and Manolo Gabbiadini. Sansone and Gabbiadini played a bit deeper than Pozzi but the forward trio pressed the Granata defence, especially in the first half.
Whenever the Torino defence tried to play the ball out of back, the Doria attack would win the ball due to the pressure they applied. If the strikers didn’t win the ball back, the midfield consisting of Lorenzo De Silvestri, Savvas Gentsoglou, Pedro Obiang and Davide Gavazzi would do it instead.
The personnel change made a difference, especially in attack. Gabbiadini didn’t force Toro keeper Daniele Padelli into making decisive saves but his pressing on the left side of attack did annoy the Granata defence.
Pozzi didn’t press as much as Gabbiadini and Sansone but in his first start for the season, he was a useful target man and showed enough technique to link-up with his teammates.
Gabbiadini and Pozzi had their roles but Sansone was the real star for the Doriani on the weekend. Aside from his pressing, his dribbling and passing was excellent. He was a constant thorn in the Torino defence with his movement and link-up play, getting his teammates involved Doria’s attacking forays.
Although the Blucerchiati functioned very well, they did get good support from wing-backs De Silvestri and Gavazzi. The duo left gaps in the back but they were a threat when they attacked down the wings.
Perhaps the inability of the wing-backs to drop back was Samp’s downfall because Danilo D’Ambrosio and Giovanni Pasquale were able to attack down the left-wing and Alessio Cerci attacked rapidly down the right side of the pitch.
There were other flaws too. Angelo Palombo looked rather uncomfortable as a centre-back and fouled D’Ambrosio for the Torino penalty which gave the Granata a 2-1 lead.
When Ciro Immobile and Cerci scored Toro’s goals, Samp showed signs of tiring. Based on that, it seems that the Blucerchiati can’t press throughout a whole match.
Last season Sampdoria knew when to press and when to slow the tempo down in their early days of Rossi’s reign and now his players must do the same for the rest of this season.
Sampdoria play Livorno away after the international break and against Torino, the Doriani showed that their first win could be on the horizon. Livorno have lost their last two matches, which were both played away. Hellas Verona defeated the Tuscans 2-1 and Napoli thrashed them 4-0.
If Doria can improve on its performance against the Granata, they could beat the Amaranto while they are down.
Follow Vito Doria on Twitter: @VitoCDoria
