Juventus and Sampdoria battled to a 0-0 draw in the final match of the Serie A weekend, with the Bianconeri in particular delivering a toothless performance.
2022/2023 Serie A
0-0
Match Report
Massimiliano Allegri's men were coming off an impressive 3-0 victory over Sassuolo last time out, but there no signs of that goalscoring prowess at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Monday night.
In fact, it was the Blucerchiati who came closest to scoring on the night, with the woodwork denying them on two occasions.
Juve were without the likes of Federico Chiesa, Angel Di Maria and Paul Pogba, but it was still somewhat surprising to see Sampdoria create the best chances in the opening half.
The home side nearly took the lead inside 10 minutes when Abdelhamid Sabiri's pass released Mehdi Leris.
The Frenchman flicked a dangerous strike with the outside of the boot and Mattia Perin's touch managed to push the ball onto the bar, with the rebound falling straight into his arms.
Juve's response came via Juan Cuadrado, but he fired straight at Emil Audero when a pass to Dusan Vlahovic seemed like the better option.
The Serbian got involved in proceedings soon after, but it was very nearly for all the wrong reasons.
While defending a Samp corner, the striker looked to clear the ball and somehow managed to put it onto his own upright. Luckily for him, it stayed out.
Although Filip Kostic saw a strike saved by Audero, Juve headed into the break perhaps a bit fortunate to still be level.
The fact Vlahovic ended the first half with three touches, five fewer than any other outfield player, underlined how tepid their efforts were.
The second half began at a rather pedestrian pace, with neither side able to find much space in the opposing half.
Juve thought they had opened the scoring when Vlahovic's cutback was swept in first time by Adrien Rabiot. However, replays showed that the Serbian was offside in the buildup, keeping the match level at 0-0.
The decision didn't spark the game into life, with Sampdoria seemingly happy to see out the contest and secure a point.
Fabio Quagliarella came on and nearly delivered one of his patented wonder strikes, however his effort went just wide of the mark.
The last chance of the match fell to Juve when Kostic volleyed a Moise Kean cross at the back post, but Audero saved the day, sending both sides home with a point.
Match Events
1' KICK-OFF! Who can win this match?
6' CLOSE! Leris' shot hits the post
43' Yellow Card! Sandro booked
49' Vlahovic's shot wide out
61' Yellow Card! Leris booked
64' OFFSIDE! Rabiot's goal disallowed
Line-ups
Sampdoria XI: Rincon, F. Caputo, Djuricic, Bereszynski, O. Colley, T. Augello, E. Audero, A.Ferrari, R. Vieira Nan, A.Sabiri, Leris
Subs: Quagliarella, N. Ravaglia, J. Murillo, Gabbiadini, Verre, Murru, N. Contini Baranovsky, Gonzalo Villar, Depaoli, M. Leverbe, G. Yepes, Lorenzo Malagrida
Juventus XI: Cuadrado, Danilo, Sandro, Perin, Kostic, Rugani, Rabiot, Locatelli, D. Vlahović, Gleison, McKennie
Subs: Bonucci, Pinsoglio, De Sciglio, Zakaria, Kean, Nicolò Fagioli, Rovella, Giovanni Gabriele·Garofani, F. Miretti, F. Gatti, Matías Soulé