Juventus shut out by Sampdoria
Reuters - Saturday 27 September 2008, 20:30
ROME - Juventus dropped points in Serie A
for the second game in succession when they were shut out in a
dull 0-0 draw at winless Sampdoria on Saturday.
After being held 1-1 at home by Catania on Wednesday, the
Turin side now have nine points from five games. They trail
leaders Inter Milan, who face city rivals AC Milan on Sunday, by
a point.
Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero came closest to
breaking the deadlock with a diagonal strike that hit the far
post in the 20th minute. He should have done better as he had
time and space to pick his spot.
Otherwise, Sampdoria suffocated the visitors with aggressive
tackling in midfield and got into good positions on a few
occasions only to let themselves down with the final touch.
The hosts had their best chances at the start of the second
half, when Antonio Cassano fired a 30-metre free kick narrowly
wide and Paolo Sammarco headed over the bar from a corner.
"They made life difficult for us. It's credit to the
defences that it was a draw and credit to Samp, who closed down
the gaps," Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri told Sky television.
"The only time we had a counter-attack we hit the post. We
are not thinking about the standings, there's no anxiety."
Nevertheless, Ranieri will be worried about his side's lack
of success in front of goal as they have scored only four times
in their first five league games.
Later on Saturday, Fiorentina beat Genoa 1-0 at home thanks
to a second-half Alberto Gilardino strike to rebound from
Wednesday's 3-0 drubbing at Lazio.
The in-form Italy forward defended the ball well from a
cluster of defenders and thrashed home an angled shot in the
61st.
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