Udinese 2-0 at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Sunday afternoon, leaping ahead of their opponents in the Serie A table in the process.
An own goal from Pablo Armero and a strike from Fernando were enough to give the Doriani their first win in three matches.
In the opening half, Sampdoria created many more chances than Udinese and most of them fell to Fabio Quagliarella. Among his chances were a long-range drive, a bicycle kick, a dipping volley and a shot that flashed across goal but he either failed to hit the target or Zebrette goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis would collect the ball easily.
Quagliarella’s attacking partner Luis Muriel had some chances too, with one header going over the ball from close range and an angled drive being saved by Karnezis. The Friulani’s best chance was a Duvan Zapata effort which was deflected off a Samp defender.
After the break Sampdoria had more possession and after Lorenzo De Silvestri had a shot that went horribly wide, Il Doria went ahead on 58 minutes. Muriel had an attempt on goal blocked but the second attempt was deflected by Armero and the shot beat Karnezis at the near post.
The Doriani nearly doubled their lead but Soriano failed beat Karnezis in a one-on-one situation. Udinese searched for an equaliser but Francesco Lodi and Zdravko Kuzmanovic failed to hit the target with their efforts.
Sampdoria doubled their lead in the 84th minute when Antonio Cassano’s cross was left to run and Fernando sprinted towards the edge of the penalty box to strike the ball into the net.
The victory means that Il Doria jump ahead of the Friulani in the Serie A with 36 points while Udinese remain on 34.
