18 May 2013
Two second-half goals against the run of play saw the Bianconeri end their 2012/13 Serie A campaign with a 3-2 defeat against Sampdoria.
Having gone in front through Fabio Quagliarella’s 13th strike of the term on 25 minutes, Antonio Conte’s men appeared to be on course for a winning conclusion to the season.
But Eder’s debatable penalty reopened the contest, before breakaway goals from Di Silvestri and Icardi condemned Juventus to this year’s second reverse at the hands of the Blucerchiati.
The visitors, featuring five changes from last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Cagliari, displayed heavy pressing from the first whistle, finding particular joy through the energetic bursts of Mauricio Isla and Paolo De Ceglie down the flanks.
The returning Fabio Quagliarella was the first to test Sampdoria’s Júnior da Costa, forcing the goalkeeper to beat his fierce right-footed shot from the edge of the area to safety with ten minutes played.
The Brazilian shotstopper was heavily involved throughout the first half as the Bianconeri upped the ante in search of an opener, denying Emanuele Giaccherini twice in quick succession before showing sharp reactions to block Giorgio Chiellini’s deflected strike with his feet.
With Conte cutting an animated presence as he urged Juventus forward from the touchline, it appeared only a matter of time before his men found the breakthrough their pressure merited.
This duly arrived when Andrea Pirlo’s pinpoint pass from deep found the feet of Quagliarella, who showed exceptional control before guiding a carefully placed right-footed strike past the despairing dive of Da Costa with 25 minutes played.
The opener appeared to spark Sampdoria into life, and a seemingly innocuous tussle in the area between Mauro Icardi and Chiellini provided them with the ideal opportunity to restore parity moments later from the spot.
Former Sampdoria stopper Marco Storari guessed correctly and threw himself down to the right, but was unable to keep Eder’s perfectly placed penalty from nestling in the bottom corner.
Juventus refused to let the setback throw them off course and could have regained the lead when Quagliarella fired towards goal from inside the area on 38 minutes, only for Shkodran Mustafi to produce an excellent last-ditch block to send his team into the break on level pegging.
A lively start to the second half produced a flurry of chances for the visitors to seize the advantage. Quagliarella continued to cause plenty of problems for his former employers, going close with two attempts in as many minutes, while a flowing move involving Giaccherini, Sebastian Giovinco and Simone Padoin resulted in the latter seeing his low effort well thwarted by Da Costa’s strong left arm.
But the Blucerchiati, who caught the Bianconeri cold with a surprise 2-1 victory at Juventus Stadium in January, snatched the lead when Lorenzo De Silvestri rose highest at the near post to plant an inswinging corner past Storari on 57 minutes.
Determined to prevent history repeating itself, Juventus committed further bodies forward and Quagliarella drew another fine save from Da Costa after connecting well with Giovinco’s inviting cross from the left-hand side.
In a bid to inject some fresh attacking impetus, Conte introduced Stephan Lichtsteiner and Nicklas Bendtner in place of Padoin and Giovinco.
But the substitutes barely had time to take their first touch before Storari was picking the ball out of his net for a third time on 75 minutes.
A clinical counter attacking move saw the ball worked to Marcelo Estigarribia on the right-flank, who squared across the face of goal to present Icardi with a straightforward tap-in.
An unfortunate night then took a turn for the worse as Juventus were forced to play out the final stages with ten men after Bendtner fell awkwardly in the penalty area.
But Conte’s troops refused to throw in the towel and gave themselves hope of completing a remarkable comeback when Giaccherini sent an unstoppable shot into the top corner on the stroke of 90 minutes.
Andrea Gervasoni’s final whistle means the Bianconeri, who were given a tremendous farewell by their travelling faithful, end a triumphant season on 87 points.
SAMPDORIA 3-2 JUVENTUS
GOALS: Quagliarella 25, Eder 31, De Silvestri 57, Icardi 75, Giaccherini 90
SAMPDORIA
Da Costa, Mustafi, Gastaldello, Castellini; De Silvestri, Obiang, Palombo (Munari 66), Poli, Estigarribia; Eder (Sansone 79), Icardi.
Substitutes not used: Romero, Berni, Savic, Rodriguez, Maresca, Berardi, Poulsen, Maxi Lopez, Soriano.
Manager: Rossi
JUVENTUS
Storari (Rubinho 80); Caceres, Bonucci, Chiellini; Isla, Padoin (Lichtsteiner 74), Pirlo, Giaccherini, De Ceglie; Giovinco (Bendtner 74), Quagliarella.
Substitutes not used: Buffon, Barzagli, Peluso, Vidal, Marchisio, Vucinic, Matri.
Manager: Conte
REFEREE: Gervasoni
ASSISTANTS: Meli, Iannello
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Posado
BOOKED: Icardi 75
