Sampdoria come from behind to beat Cittadella.
On January 28, 2024 by Jake IovineLuca Pandolfi’s opening goal was canceled out by a Sampdoria comeback as Cittadella falls for the first time at home since October.
Pandolfi scored his sixth goal of the season, but it wasn’t enough for Cittadella in the second half against Sampdoria.
Edoardo Gorini’s side had won five straight home games going into the weekend. Sampdoria under Andrea Pirlo had been struggling recently, falling to 15th after four games without a win.
“After the 1-0 we had the chance to double the lead, but we failed,” Gorini said in his post-match interview. “If you give Samp half the chance, they’ll score.”
“It’s a shame, because the performance was there,” Gorini continued. “I don’t believe we deserved to lose.”
Luca Pandolfi has led the way for Cittadella this season, and he scored his sixth goal of the campaign after a long ball by Simone Branca found the forward in-behind the Sampdoria defense. Pandolfi rounded Filip Stankovic to fire the Granata into the lead after 53 minutes.
Until today, Cittadella had not lost a game when scoring the first goal, going 7-1-0 during that time. Sampdoria found their equalizer seven minutes after Pandolfi’s goal when Simone Giordano placed his effort into the corner following a one-two pass with Manuel De Luca.
The Blucerchiati went into the lead nearly ten minutes after the equalizer through Daniele Ghilardi. The center back headed in a free header from Fabio Depaoli’s set piece.
Second half substitute Tommy Maistrello almost found a dramatic equalizer in stoppage time. The striker found himself free inside the box and was picked out by Filippo Pittarello, but Maistrello couldn’t keep his shot on frame and sent the ball over the crossbar.
Cittadella falls at home for the first time since Oct. 27, and has now lost two straight games. Gorini’s side will end the weekend in 6th place as they turn their attention to Brescia next Saturday.
PHOTO: Mattia Radoni/LaPresse