Sampdoria beats Cittadella to shake up relegation battle

A second half header from Giuseppe Sibilli made the difference as Sampdoria defeated Cittadella 1-0 at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, putting the Blucerchiati level on points with the Venetians inside the relegation play-out zone.

Sampdoria entered the weekend desperate for answers after two straight defeats, having also won just twice in 22 league games. Cittadella looked to secure an eighth win on the road and a huge victory against a relegation rival.

“We lost a tasteless game,” Cittadella head coach Alessandro Dal Canto said after the loss. “Without a start, and with a pinch of dominance by Sampdoria, it lived on the moment of Sibilli’s goal.”

In front more than 26,000 fans in Genova, Sampdoria looked to strike early. Elhan Kastrati made an early save by parring away a headed pass to Massimo Coda, denying the Samp striker an open net.

Cittadella striker Orji Okwonkwo thought he scored the opening goal in the final seconds of the first half. A corner kick from Alessio Vita got flicked on to the striker, who finished from six yards out. However, after a quick VAR check, referee Rosario Abisso disallowed the goal for an offside.

The canceled goal proved to be the only attacking threat from the entire game for Cittadella, who failed to register a shot on target in 90 minutes compared to three by Sampdoria. The Granata mustered just two attempts in the second half, once again highlighting offensive struggles this season.

“We never gave the impression of scoring and at the same time of conceding,” Dal Canto said. “The environmental context of the match made the difference, not the match itself.”

The breakthrough came in the 64th minute through Samp striker Sibilli, who redirected his header to the far corner and firing the hosts into the lead.

Cittadella’s first shot of the second half arrived in the 83rd minute as Luca Pandolfi looked to volley a cross into the net. However, the hopeful strike from the edge of the box went a few yards wide.

“It seems like we lost by chance and we were fine with anything,” Dal Canto said. “To be more daring you need to do something more when we have the ball.”

The result, alongside Salernitana’s 2-1 win against Sudtirol earlier on Saturday, sucks Cittadella back into the relegation play-out zone for the first time since the end of December. The Granata are now level on 35 points with Sampdoria and the side from Bolzano with five games remaining.

Next up for Citta is Salernitana on Easter Monday at the Stadio Piercesare Tombolato, who sits two points adrift from Dal Canto’s side.

“We know we have to fight until the end, if we avoid throwing away points is even better,” he said. “Half an episode against us can’t be enough to come out defeated.”

TOP PHOTO: A.S. Cittadella / Facebook