Inter beat Atalanta to go second after Juve crash at Samp
MILAN: This season’s Serie A title race is shaping up to be the most interesting in years and it took another turn on Sunday when Juventus fell to a surprise 3-2 defeat at Sampdoria.
Colombian Duvan Zapata, Uruguayan Lucas Torreira and Italian defender Gian Marco Ferrari put Sampdoria 3-0 up in the second half before six-time reigning champions Juve threatened an astonishing stoppage-time comeback with a penalty from Gonzalo Higuain and a strike from Paulo Dybala.
Two second-half headers from Mauro Icardi gave Inter Milan a 2-0 win at home to Atalanta in the evening match, which took them two points above Juve into second place to stand two points behind Napoli, who beat AC Milan 2-1 on Saturday.
Napoli are top with 35 points from 13 games to Inter’s 33 with Juve on 31 and Roma fourth a point back with a game in hand, after beating Lazio in a pulsating Rome derby on Saturday. Sampdoria are sixth with 26 points, two points behind Lazio.
Juve rested goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and defender Andrea Barzagli, who both confirmed their international retirements after playing in Monday’s 0-0 draw with Sweden which meant Italy failed to qualify for next year’s World Cup.
They missed a host of first-half chances then collapsed after the break as Samp maintained their perfect home record.
Zapata headed Sampdoria ahead in the 52nd minute, Torreira blasted the second on 71 minutes Ferrari turned in Fabio Quagliarella’s cross from the byline for the third eight minutes later.
Juve were awarded a penalty after Ivan Strinic fouled Douglas Costa with Higuain getting the visitors’ first on 91 minutes, while Dybala added the second in the final act of the game.