The atmosphere at the Allianz Stadium was subdued ahead of the game, with Juventus supporters expectant of a straightforward evening, and the majority of the away contingent appearing to have stayed in Genoa in protest at La Samp’s current situation.
Despite the perceived mismatch, Manolo Gabbiadini was presented with two fantastic opportunities within the first 10 minutes. First, he pulled a shot wide from a one-on-one having escaped the defence, before he fired straight at Mattia Perin with Filip Djuricic in support and likely in a better position to score.
A whopping 12 points from Serie A safety and facing the record champions, the odds were stacked against the Blucerchiati, and their early chances counted for nothing as they fell behind just moments later.
Filip Kostic whipped in a wicked corner and Gleison Bremer towered higher than the rest to thump a header past debutant Martin Turk in the Sampdoria goal. Juventus sensed that they had the beating of their opponents in the air, and Adrien Rabiot swiftly made it two for the Bianconeri when he headed Fabio Miretti’s free-kick back across goal and into the far corner.
Having scored by far the fewest goals of any club in Europe’s top five leagues, Sampdoria needed something special to get back in the game, and they launched a heroic comeback within just a couple of minutes.
The deficit was halved when Tommaso Augello arrived from the left to place into the far corner, and before there was a chance for Juve players to catch their breaths, Djuricic had made the most of some great work from Alessandro Zanoli and fired past Perin for an unlikely equaliser.
The visitors had the belief that they could go on to win the game in the second half, and they battled valiantly in its early stages.
Although they languish in seventh due to their points deduction, Juventus possess the quality of a top-four side, however, and they took the lead as Rabiot coolly struck in a volley from the edge of the box, albeit under suspicions of a handball.
The restoration of a two-goal advantage would likely have meant curtains for Sampdoria, and it looked to be headed that way when Juventus were awarded a penalty, but Dusan Vlahovic, without a goal in five previous matches, smashed his spot-kick against the post.
There was time for 19-year-old Matías Soule to make it 4-2 with a stoppage-time header, but there'd be no further genuine threat from the visitors, who slumped to a 10 outing without a win in Serie A, and may see this as a missed opportunity to revive their push for survival.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Adrien Rabiot (Juventus)
