Fabio Quagliarella’s exquisite chip helped Sampdoria secure back-to-back home wins for the first time since February as ‘I Blucerchiati’ produced a dominant display in a 4-1 win over Fiorentina.
Sampdoria came into the match after securing a 10th consecutive campaign in Italy’s top flight next season and hoped to enjoy their final home fixture of the campaign. As a result, ‘I Blucerchiati’ took control of proceedings and forced an early opener, which came from an unlikely source when Alex Ferrari unconventionally chested in Antonio Candreva’s whipped free-kick into the bottom corner as the defender notched his first goal of the season.
Fired up by the jubilant home crowd and sensing more goals to help them on their way, Sampdoria kept the pressure on Fiorentina. Quagliarella doubled the hosts’ lead before HT, evading the offside trap to chip Abdelhamid Sabiri’s well-weighted through ball over the stranded Pietro Terracciano.
With their hopes of reaching a Europa League qualification spot in the balance, Fiorentina tried to reply quickly in the second period and the urgency from ‘Viola’ was clear, although, breaching a Sampdoria defence that had won to nil during their last three home victories was going to be a tough ask. As Fiorentina went in search of a late comeback, Sampdoria opened up the visitors with surgical precision on the counter-attack, ending with Candreva pulling back for Morten Thorsby to fire into the roof of the net. Sabiri then scored his third home goal in five in the closing stages by lashing a powerful effort into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
There was a late consolation for Fiorentina when Nicolás González slotted a penalty past Emil Audero, but the strike came too late to ignite any major response, even though Sampdoria finished with 10 men after Omar Colley was dismissed. Sampdoria capped off their final home fixture of the season in style, and they can travel to Inter Milan on the final day without the potential threat of relegation hanging over them. Fiorentina, however, face a tense home match against Juventus, knowing that defeat could see them drop out of the European places.
