Full time: Juventus 2-0 Sampdoria
Peep peep! Juventus are champions of Italy for the 35th time, and for the ninth consecutive season. They won’t reach 90 points, as they have in the last four seasons, but they are the still best team in Italy and they have seen off some fine opposition in Inter, Atalanta and Lazio. It’s a first league title for their coach Maurizio Sarri, and a 492nd major honour for Cristiano Ronaldo. Thanks for your company and emails, goodnight!
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90+2 min Juventus almost grab a third. First Rabiot’s header is saved by Audero, and then Bonucci’s shot is spectacularly cleared off the line by Yoshida.
RONALDO MISSES THE PENALTY!
Cristiano Ronaldo thunders the penalty off the crossbar. It doesn’t matter for Juventus but it does for Ronaldo - a goal there would have moved him to within two of Ciro Immobile in the race for the Capocannoniere.
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PENALTY TO JUVE! Depaoli hacks Alex Sandro just inside the area, a clear penalty. Depaoli is booked.
86 min Yet another headed chance for Sampdoria. Augello’s deep cross from the left is headed a few yards wide by Gabbiadini. That wasn’t as easy as some of the earlier chances because there was no pace on the cross.
86 min Rabiot is booked for hoofing the ball away in frustration after being penalised for a foul.
82 min Sampdoria appeal for a handball in the Juventus area. The referee isn’t interested and Juventus break two on two. Ronaldo slides a penetrative square pass to set up Higuain, who sidefoots tamely wide of goal.
80 min Sampdoria almost score with a training-ground routine of their own. Ramirez, just outside the area on the left, cuts a free-kick back sharply to Quagliarella, whose first-time shot deflects just wide of the near post.
80 min Cuadrado is booked for fouling Leris.
78 min de Ligt limps off to be replaced by Daniele Rugani. And Rodrigo Bentancur replaces the excellent Pjanic.
THORSBY IS SENT OFF!
77 min Sampdoria are down to 10 men. Morten Thorsby overruns the ball, ploughs through Pjanic and receives a second yellow card. There were no complaints.
75 min The substitute Gabbiadini almost scores immediately from Depaoli’s excellent cutback, but de Ligt slides across to block his first-time shot. Sampdoria have been really impressive tonight.
73 min “Juventus are going to be champions of Italy for the ninth time in a row,” says Ruth Purdue. “Really healthy that, well done everyone.”
Well, there is that. Bayern have also won eight in a row in Germany, and PSG seven of the last eight in France.
72 min Time for the drinks break. Sampdoria bring on Manolo Gabbiadini for Jankto.
71 min: Fine save by Szczesny! Sampdoria have had some great opportunites tonight. Leris curled over a superb cross from the right to find Quagliarella, whose thumping header was pushed away by the flying Szczesny. It was a really good save, but Quagliarella shouldn’t have given him a chance. His header was nowhere near the corner.
Juventus are going to be champions of Italy for the ninth time in a row. The second goal, which surely seals victory tonight, came on the break. Ronaldo cut inside and belted a low shot that was spilled by Audero, and the substitute Bernardeschi was first on the scene to poke the loose ball into the net. That’s his first goal in Serie A since September 2018.
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GOAL! Juventus 2-0 Sampdoria (Bernardeschi 67)
It’s there!
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65 min Jankto is booked for pulling back Cuadrado.
61 min: Good save from Audero! Rabiot steals the ball off Linetty and makes another of those imperious surges at a backpedalling defence. Eventually he eases the ball to his right to find Ronaldo, whose fierce shot is beaten away at the near post by Audero.
60 min Ronaldo has a shot bblocked by Depaoli.
57 min Ramirez heads straight at Szczesny from Depaoli’s flat cross. That was another decent opportunity.
55 min For a team with nothing to play for, Sampdoria have been quite brilliant.
54 min: Great chance for Tonelli! Samp really should be level. Ramirez’s outswinging corner from the left was met emphatically by the leaping Tonelli, whose downward header went this far wide of the far post. Having beaten de Ligt to the ball, he probably should have scored.
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52 min The last time Juventus failed to win Serie A was in 2010-11, when they suffered a farcical new-year collapse of seven defeats in 11 games.
51 min: Chance for Samp! Augello’s fine cross from the left was missed by the leaping Ramirez but dropped nicely for Leris, whose instinctive half-volley went just wide of the near post.
50 min Juventus have made a strong start to the season. A superb, dipping free-kick from Pjanic on the right just evades both Ronaldo and Higuain at the far post.
46 min Peep peep! Juventus begin the second half.
Half-time reading
Half time: Juventus 1-0 Sampdoria
That was a classic training-ground goal. The free-kick was 20 yards out, a long way to the right of centre. Pjanic dummied to shoot and instead angled a sharp pass across the area to Ronaldo, who ran round the ball and smacked it first time into the bottom corner. That’s a cracking goal.
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GOAL! Juventus 1-0 Sampdoria (Ronaldo 45+7)
One-nil!
45+6 min Tonelli is booked for pulling back Rabiot, who had made another powerful run through midfield. He’s been very impressive tonight.
45+4 min Bernardeschi clips the free-kick over the wall and over the bar.
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45+2 min After a snappy, one-touch move from Juventus, Rabiot is tripped on the edge of the area by Thorsby. The free-kick is a fair way to the right of centre, so not ideal for a right-footer. Thorsby has been booked.
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45+1 min There will be six minutes of added time because of all the injuries.
45 min Pjanic is booked for a tactical foul on Ramirez.
44 min That’s more like it from Juventus. Pjanic and Ronaldo combine to find Bernardeschi, whose fierce rising drive from 20 yards is beaten away by Audero.
41 min Ronaldo, who has looked in a foul mood all night, cuts inside from the left and drives over the bar from long range.
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40 min The third substitution of the first half - Gonzalo Higuain is on for the injured Paulo Dybala. It looks like a thigh injury.
39 min At the other end, Cuadrado spanks a loose ball into orbit from the edge of the area.
38 min: Chance for Quagliarella! Sampdoria could easily be ahead. Jankto got behind Cuadrado on the left, moved into the area and picked out Quagriella 10 yards from goal with a precise cutback. His first-time shot was pretty tame, though, and Szczesny plunged to his left to make a comfortable save.
37 min “Ciro Immobile! has made me smile this evening,” says Ruth Purdue. “Enjoy.”
Wow...what a finish from Ciro Immobile! 😱
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) July 26, 2020
That's No. 33 for the Serie A season and another big goal in the Capocannoniere race 👀 pic.twitter.com/0iEKkDS41h
36 min Alex Sandro’s cross from the left flashes right across the Sampdoria area.
35 min Quagliarella hits a good rising drive from 25 yards that is comfortably saved to his left by Szczesny.
34 min Bernardeschi tries to take matters into his own hands with a chest-volley from the edge of the box. It dribbles well wide.
31 min Juventus haven’t got going at all, though Sampdoria deserve credit for how effectively they have harassed them.
28 min Ramirez is having his head bandaged. But Danilo is coming off to be replaced by Federico Bernardeschi. From Danilo’s body language, I think he wanted to carry on and was overruled by the physio.
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25 min While Danilo is treated, the players take a drinks break.
24 min A grim clash of heads between Danilo and Ramirez. Danilo looks really unsteady on his feet and I’m not sure he’ll be able to continue.
23 min Chabot was injured in that challenge with Ronaldo and is going off. Mehdi Leris replaces him.
20 min Ronaldo’s header is saved by the legs of Audero, though he had been penalised for climbing all over Chabot at the far post. He was very unhappy with the decision, but it looked like a foul.
19 min I don’t know whether Sampdoria can keep this up for 90 minutes. For the time being, though, they are making life uncomfortable for Juve.
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15 min The corner is half cleared to Linetty, whose volley is blocked.
15 min The under pressure de Ligt’s attempted pass to Szczesny goes behind for a corner. Sampdoria have been pretty aggressive in their pressing and tackling, and Claudio Ranieri will be really pleased with the first 15 minutes.
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13 min “Wearing a mask has got to really inhibit the number of cigarettes Sarri can suck down,” says J.R. in Illinois. “I suppose he can still just chew the butts beneath his mask to get his nicotine fix.”
Where there’s an addiction, there’s a way.
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10 min Rabiot steals the ball in midfield and leads a four-on-two break, only to grossly overhit his pass to Ronaldo. He is unable to control it properly and that allows Chabot to make an important tackle.
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8 min Sampdoria look quite spritely going forward; they certainly haven’t come for a 0-0.
5 min Ronaldo slices miles wide after a good knockback from Matuidi. It wouldn’t have counted as Matuidi was offside when he ran onto Dybala’s lofted pass.
4 min: Chance for Sampdoria! Augello swings in a nice cross from the left towards Ramirez, whose downward header from 10 yards is too close to Szczesny. That was a chance.
2 min Ronaldo storms into the area and is about to shoot when Tonelli appears on his blind side to make a vital tackle.
1 min Peep peep! Sampdoria, in their classic blue strip, kick off from right to left. Juve are in black and white halves.
The coaches Maurizio Sarri and Claudio Ranieri, combined age 129, smile warmly as they greet each other. I think Sarri was smiling, anyway; he has a mask on so I can’t be sure. But his body language suggested he was very happy to see our Claudio.
“How good has Ramsey been this season?” says Andrew Hurley, and that’s not a rhetorical question. “I haven’t followed closely but he seems to have been in and out of the team.”
I haven’t seen much of Juventus this season either. It’s probably fair to say the move hasn’t quite worked as he’d hoped, apart from the payslips. I think he’s only started 11 Serie A games.
Some pre-match reading
Team news
Juventus (4-3-3) Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, de Ligt, Alex Sandro; Rabiot, Pjanic, Matuidi; Cuadrado, Dybala, Ronaldo.
Substitutes: Ramsey, Higuain, Rugani, Demiral, Bentancur, Pinsoglio, Bernardeschi, Olivieri, Muratore, Zanimacchia, Buffon.
Sampdoria (3-5-2) Audero; Chabot, Yoshida, Tonelli; Depaoli, Linetty, Jankto, Thorsby, Augello; Ramirez, Quagliarella.
Substitutes: Bonazzoli, Askildsen, La Gumina, Maroni, Seculin, Gabbiadini, Ferrari, Leris, Murru, Falcone, Rocha.
Referee Francesco Fourneau.
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Preamble
Let’s try that one again. Juventus missed the chance to win their ninth consecutive league title when they lost at Udinese, but they have three more chances to get the victory they need. The first is at home to Claudio Ranieri’s Sampdoria, who had been in terrific form until they lost the Genoa derby on Wednesday.
Indeed, Sampdoria’s form is much better than that of Juventus, who have won only one of their last five matches. They are staggering over the line, walking in an S-shape like a Wetherspoons escapee. But as long as they get home, they won’t mind how they get there.
Kick off 8.45pm.
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