Sampdoria and Inter share top spot on the Campionato Primavera 1 table after earning victories against their respective opponents while Juventus slipped after a shock defeat to SPAL in Round 28.
Il Doria earned a 1-0 victory against Cagliari on Wednesday thanks to a solitary goal from Lorenzo Di Stefano, who scored his fifth goal in his last seven appearances. The strike came 12 minutes from time thanks to a superb pirouette and right-footed shot.
The victory means that Sampdoria have also sealed a place in the Primavera play-offs, and joining them will be Inter, who are level with Samp on 53 points after they registered a 2-0 win away to Lazio.
It was a match with limited chances and the most notable moment in the first half was a goal from Biancocelesti defender Damiano Franco being disallowed in the 25th minute for offside. Despite a predominantly dour second half with limited chances created, there was some late drama thanks to Inter midfielder Cesare Casadei scoring twice in three minutes.
Both Sampdoria and Inter have leaped above Juventus after I Bianconeri lost 2-1 at home to SPAL. I Biancazzurri took a shock lead in the 24th minute with a header from Luca Moro and Mikael Ellertsson doubled his team’s advantage after running onto a cross from Spallini captain Demba Seck.
Substitute Yannick Cotter pulled one back for La Vecchia Signora two minutes into stoppage time and he had the opportunity to score an incredible double but he was not able to strike the ball well enough with his left foot.
Roma lost further grip on the other sides for first place after losing 2-1 to Sassuolo in the final match of the round, leaving them fourth on 49 points. Edoardo Bove gave I Giallorossi the lead in the 27th minute but I Neroverdi came back to secure the three points with second-half goals from Ryan Flamingo and Brian Oddei.
Round 28 results:
Atalanta 2-1 Genoa
Sampdoria 1-0 Cagliari
Bologna 0-0 Ascoli
Lazio 0-2 Inter
Empoli 0-2 Torino
AC Milan 0-3 Fiorentina
Juventus 1-2 SPAL
Sassuolo 2-1 Roma
Campionato Primavera 1 standings:
