Clinical Bologna Put Three Past Sampdoria in Sunday Lunch Match

Bologna came back to winning was after two losses in a row as they toppled Sampdoria 3-1 at the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium with goals from Musa Barrow, Matthias Svanberg, and Roberto Soriano. Claudio Ranieri’s Blucerchiati, on the other hand, further extended their non-winning streak as the last time they grabbed the three points on offer was exactly one month ago.

Still, it was Sampdoria who controlled the match and temporarily grabbed an equalizer with Fabio Quagliarella, but were overcome by a merciless Rossoblu side who made the best out of the few scoring chances they had.

Ranieri lined up Sampdoria with his usual 4-4-2 setup with 20-year-old Mikkel Damsgaard on the front line alongside the eternal Fabio Quagliarella. Another veteran – Rodrigo Palacio – was leading Bologna’s attack as Sinisa Mihajlovic placed Nicola Sansone and Andreas Skov Olsen next to him.

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? #Tomiyasu and @DijksMitchell return ?#BolognaSampdoria #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/4meJDQy3rI

— Bologna FC 1909 (@BolognaFC1909en) March 14, 2021

The first chance of the match was for the Blucerchiati and was the natural consequence of the visitors’ pressure, but Morten Thorsby’s shot ended its run into the post. Bologna, on the other hand, were clinical, and when Palacio dribbled his marker on the right-hand flank and crossed the ball in the middle of the box, Musa Barrow found himself in the right place to head the ball home and put his fellow Rossoblu in the driving seat.

Sampdoria’s reaction was immediate and produced an equalizer a few minutes later, with Quagliarella finding the winning spot into Lukasz Skorupski’s goal from a Tommaso Augello service.

The last stages of the first period were vibrant: Four more minutes, and Bologna were ahead again, courtesy of a Matthias Svanberg sharp shot from the edge of the box at the end of a Rossoblu breakaway. That’s how the team went for the break, with Sampdoria frustrated at being one goal down despite their predominance.

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Here's #Ranieri's starting 1⃣1⃣ for #BolognaSamp#SerieATIM#FORZADORIA ?⚪️?⚫️⚪️? pic.twitter.com/jVqQO3JLCo

— Sampdoria English ? (@sampdoria_en) March 14, 2021

The match pattern didn’t seem to change after the restart, with the visitors continuing to attack and coming close to drawing level again with Quagliarella, Jakub Jankto, and Bartos Bereszynksi. Bologna, however, gave the impression they could be more dangerous whenever they wanted to: On 61 minutes, it took a super save from Emil Audero to deny a double chance created by Palacio and Skov Olsen.

Immediately later, Roberto Soriano wrapped his 9th Serie A goal this season, finishing for the best from a delicious Svanberg service.

Claudio Ranieri didn’t want to give up and switched to an offensive 4-3-3, sending in additional strikers Manolo Gabbiadini and Gastòn Ramirez, but it was Bologna to come closer to score again. Nicola Sansone had one goal disallowed by the VAR, whereas Matthias Svanberg was denied a brace by a Maya Yoshida clearance right on the goal line.

It was a refreshing victory for Bologna and a disappointing outcome for Sampdoria. The Blucerchiati have nothing to be fear as far as relegation is concerned, but surely Ranieri will have to go back to the drawing board to end his side’s non-winning spell.

BIG 3-1 win for Bologna over Sampdoria. Back to winning ways ☑️ pic.twitter.com/V9ayjC1Z4Q

— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) March 14, 2021

 

MATCH REPORT

March 14, 2021 – Serie A 2020-2021 Round 27
BOLOGNA-SAMPDORIA 3-1

SCORERS: 28′ Barrow (B), 37′ Quagliarella (S), 41′ Svanberg (B), 70′ Soriano (B)

REFEREE: Mr. Irrati from Pistoia
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Palacio, Skov Olsen (B), Ferrari, Ramirez (S)