Juventus vs Sampdoria 4-1: A Stroll in the Coppa Italia Park

In the middle of a transition phase, as their wait for their new (old) coach Marco Giampaolo to take charge, Sampdoria were no match for Juventus in a Coppa Italia Round of 16 at the Allianz Stadium on Tuesday night. The Bianconeri brushed their Ligurian opposition aside with goals from Juan Cuadrado, Daniele Rugani, Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata.

Sampdoria found temporary relief from an Andrea Conti goal but the Blucerchiati, who are only four points clear of the drop zone in Serie A, have much more pressing issues to face than the Coppa Italia and offered little opposition tonight.

And so, it was all easy for the Bianconeri, who lined themselves up in a 4-2-3-1 fashion where Danilo was surprisingly deployed as center back next to Rugani. Upfront, Kaio Jorge was rumored to being ready for his first cap as a starter but the young Brazilian was ultimately left on the bench by Marco Landucci – who replaced Massimiliano Allegri in the dugout as he was serving a one-match ban.

Sampdoria, who were led by Primavera coach Felice Tufano after the sacking of Roberto D’Aversa, answered with a 3-5-2 setup where Francesco Caputo was joined by Alfredo Torregrossa on the front line. 

The Bianconeri were in full control from the get-go and gave goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone much work to do. The Blucerchiati‘s shot-stopper held his own for a while but should have done much better on 25 minutes, when he failed to catch an anything-but-irresistible free-kick from Cuadrado.

One minute later, Juventus could have had their second already as Morata found the back of the net with a clinical right-foot conclusion. However, the referee disallowed his winning effort after spotting via the VAR and Adrien Rabiot foul in the build-up.

Juventus’ second goal came for real a few minutes after the restart as Rugani jumped ahead of his marker Giangiacomo Magnani to make the best out of a cross from Arthur.

On 63 minutes, Sampdoria halved the gap from their very first shot on target. It was defender Andrea Conti, who just joined the club on loan from Milan, to beat Mattia Perin with a razor-sharp shot.

Juventus re-established their two-goal cushion four minutes later, courtesy of a Paulo Dybala goal. The Argentine, who had just replaced Dejan Kulusevski, was picked by a Manuel Locatelli pass and was quick to sneak past the Blucerchiati defense and whip the ball past the Doria’s goalie. 

Before the end, there was some glory also for 21-year-old Marley Aké. A few minutes after making his debut in white-and-black, the young Frenchman forced Tommaso Augello into a penalty foul. Morata stepped to the spot and comfortably made it 4-1, wrapping an easy night for Juventus.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side will be facing the winner between Sassuolo and Cagliari in the domestic cup Quarter Finals.

 

MATCH SCORECARD

January 18, 2022 – Coppa Italia 2021/22 Round of 16
JUVENTUS – SAMPDORIA 4-1

SCORERS: 25′ Cuadrado (J), 52′ Rugani (J), 63′ Conti (S), 67′ Dybala (J), 77′ Morata (J, pen.)