Sampdoria wins first round against Salernitana: 2-0

Sampdoria takes the first round of the Serie B play-outs: they beat Salernitana 2-0 in the first leg, played at the Ferraris. A very important move in view of the return match on Friday, at the Arechi, where the Campanians will necessarily have to win by at least two goals to overturn the result and secure safety. Evani chooses Sibilli alongside Coda, while on the left Venuti wins the ballot with Ioannou. Marino, for his part, launches Simy from the 1st minute, leaving Cerri on the bench.

Sampdoria started better, with Sibilli immediately taking centre stage. The former Bari player took the first shot of the match after seven minutes, but it was in the 12th minute that he came close to scoring, overcoming giri with a nice feint but wasting everything in front of Christensen. The Blucerchiati imposed a very high pace on the match right away, often recovering the ball in the opponent's half. From here comes another opportunity, again with Sibilli, who slipped between a couple of opponents and closed his left foot on the near post, finding a great response from the Granata goalkeeper.

Sampdoria vs Salernitana, 15_06_2025 (GettyImages)

The first chance for the visitors came in the 36th minute, when Tongya, in open play, clearly skipped past Riccio but then let fly with a weak, central shot. The opportunity shook Sampdoria, who took the lead in the 39th minute: Christensen fumbled the ball in the corner, Alex Ferrari coordinated himself with his left foot and crossed it to Meulensteen, who headed it in, repeating the goal he scored against the Campanians just over a month ago. Sampdoria continued with a better attitude in the second half, getting shots off Depaoli and Sibilli, with the latter wasting everything again: an offside was called anyway, but it didn't seem to be one. In the middle, Hrustic made an impression, serving Simy in depth, who was anticipated at the last by Cragno. The two came into contact with the goalkeeper who suffered a cut on his chin, while Simy was cautioned. The Sampdoria goalkeeper was then forced to leave on a stretcher in the 71st minute after hearing a "crack" apparently at tendon height and starting to sprint.

Sampdoria vs Salernitana, 15_06_2025 (GettyImages)

The pace slows and Salernitana tries to gain meters, but in the 86th minute the cold shower arrives for the guests: cross from Ioannou on a free kick, Ruggeri does not intervene definitively, the ball hits Gian Marco Ferrari and Curto scores from zero meters. Ruining Sampdoria's evening is the bad intervention of Borini on Lochoshvili: initially cautioned, the former Roma and Milan player is then sent off by Aureliano following an on-field review. Salernitana throws itself forward trying to halve the disadvantage, but Samp defends with lucidity, thanks also to Ghidotti's reflex on Cerri. In the final, after a small group born from Raimondo's foul on Sibilli, a direct red card to Stojanovic for a foul on Ioannou. The verdict will be on Friday evening.