14 December 2014
Goals either side of half time from Patrice Evra and Manolo Gabbiadini saw Juventus and Sampdoria share the spoils in this afternoon’s 1-1 draw at Juventus Stadium, a result which brings an end to the Bianconeri’s 25-game Serie A winning streak on home soil.
A whirlwind start to the game saw the hosts set about their opponents from the very first whistle and their industry was rewarded when Evra opened the scoring on 12 minutes, leaping to plant Claudio Marchisio’s corner beyond Sergio Romero.
Outplayed for the first 30 minutes, the Blucerchiati profited from Sinisa Mihajlovic’s tactical tweaks to steady the ship before then pulling themselves level five minutes after the restart through Gabbiadini’s well-placed strike.
There was no shortage of endeavour from the Bianconeri as they strived to regain their lead, but solid Sampdoria defending and a lack of precision in the final third enabled them to hold on for a point.
Juventus began with plenty of purpose and only had to wait two minutes for the first chance to arrive, Carlos Tevez drawing a save from Romero after trying to catch his fellow countryman out at the near post.
This set the tone for a fast-paced 10 minutes in which the Bianconeri continued to press their opposition, sending cross after cross in from the right-hand side. Alvaro Morata, one of three changes from the midweek draw with Atletico, looked to benefit from the decent service on offer but found Romero equal to his rasping drive on 10 minutes.
It only looked to be a matter of time before Juventus broke the deadlock, and so it proved. Evra it was who supplied the firm header inside the area, shaking off his man to meet Marchisio’s corner on 12 minutes.
There was seemingly no respite for a shellshocked Sampdoria, with the rampant hosts keeping their foot firmly on the accelerator as they continued to build up a head of steam. This could have come just eight minutes later when crisp passing and strong forward movement created a pocket of space for Marchisio, who forced a decent save from Romero from all of 25 yards.
Despite the one-way traffic flowing freely in their direction, the in-form Blucerchiati were to fire a warning sign of their own towards the end of the first half, Daniele Gastaldello’s header from a matter of yards blocked by Gigi Buffon.
Having altered their system in the run up to the game, the visitors reverted back to type for the start of the second half, sending on Gabbiadini, co-owned by the Bianconeri, to form part of a three-pronged strikeforce.
And Mihajlovic’s tinkering reaped instant rewards as the 23-year-old frontman pulled his side level within the opening five minutes of the restart, bending a fine left-footed strike into the bottom corner beyond the outstretched hand of Buffon.
The equaliser changed the complexion of the game, with Juventus finding it difficult to reach the levels of dominance established in the first half. On the other side of the coin, Sampdoria, galvanised by their reemergence, were content to break up the play and seize any ensuing opportunities on the counter.
With the game ticking down into its final stages, Massimiliano Allegri threw caution to the wind by introducing Fernando Llorente and Kingsley Coman in place of Morata and Roberto Pereyra.
But the increased attacking impetus failed to produce a late winner, meaning the Bianconeri, now four points clear ahead of second-placed Roma who play later today, sign off the calendar year at Juventus Stadium with a draw.
