16 October 2022
Amanda Nildén set up one and scored two as Juventus Women defeated Sampdoria 4-0 in Matchday 6 of Serie A. The Bianconere proved too strong for their opponents over the 90 minutes to continue their unbeaten start to the season.
THE MATCH
The contest at Bogliasco started with both teams capable of breaking through the opposition’s defensive lines but despite gilt-edged chances, somehow the scoreline remained goalless until the closing stages of the first half.
As early as the opening seconds, a shot from the edge of the box by Martina Rosucci tested the Sampdoria goalkeeper, who was called into action again two minutes later to deny Cristiana Girelli, who looked to latch onto a misplaced passback.
Then on 8’ Amanda Nildén met a cross that had travelled the breadth of the penalty area, but her shot crashed off the crossbar. The full-back would prove pivotal later on.
At the other end, the danger arrived in the form of Kelly Gago. The French forward used her pace to get in behind the Juve defence. Her first attempt was saved by Pauline Peyraud-Magnin. Her second hit the post. The third drifted wide of the far post.
After the opening exchanges, both defences tightened up, although Peyraud-Magnin was called on to make two outstanding saves as the host’s continued to look dangerous.
Just as the first half was drifting towards the interval, Juventus struck. On 40’ Nildén was played through by a perfectly weighted pass from Arianna Caruso, to coolly finish.
Three minutes later the Swede popped up in the Samp box again. This time she cut the ball back to Barbara Bonansea who scooped the ball into the net for goal number two.
The double sucker punch before the interval took the wind out of Samp’s sails. Juventus, in complete control, knew that a third goal would be the game killer.
The first chance of the second half fell to Caruso, whose shot on the turn went just wide. Then Agnese Bonfantini tried to make an immediate impact but fired over from close range.
The third goal eventually arrived in the 77th minute. Nildén completed her claim as Player of the Match with her second of the game. Stretching to reach a corner from Caruso she twisted her header into the far corner.
And just like in the first half, the goals came in twos. Three minutes later, Sofia Cantore lobbed Kirvil Odden after the Samp keeper had punched the ball directly to the striker’s feet.
A convincing victory away from home for the Bianconere, who now turn their focus to the Champions League group phase at FC Zurich on Wednesday.
POST MATCH COMMENTS
JOE MONTEMURRO
"The beginning was full of chances for both sides. We knew about Sampdoria and their ability to launch Gago, so we tried to avoid that even if we were a bit long and we didn't always succeed as we would have liked.
"In modern football it's not just the attackers who score, we need everyone's goals, even midfielders and defenders and so I'm happy today. Nilden? She knows how to play both on the right and the left, as we have seen today.
"We expect a very busy week, although we regret having little time to recover between Zurich and Milan, given that we play on Saturday despite the European commitment on Wednesday, but we will be ready to do our best."
BARBARA BONANSEA
"We didn't do so well in the first twenty minutes, then we recovered, we scored and in the second half we managed the game better, as we should have done from the start. The important thing was to win and we did.
"My celebration? It's been almost two months since I last started, so I was really happy to have found the net, too. This is a period in which we are called to play a lot, difficult games await us, so we must be good at recovering quickly and concentrate on one commitment at a time. Now it's time for the Champions League."
SAMPDORIA 0-4 JUVENTUS WOMEN (HT: 0-2)
SCORERS: 40’ & 77’ Nildén (J), 43’ Bonansea (J), 81’ Cantore (J)
SAMPDORIA: Odden; De Rita, Pisani, Spinelli, Giordano (69′ Oliviero); Regazzoli (63′ Baldi), Re, Seghir (46′ Fallico); Rincon (71′ Cuschieri), Gago; Tarenzi (46′ Cedeno). Subs not used: Tampieri, Conc, Battistini, Pettenuzzo. Coach: Cincotta.
JUVENTUS: Peyraud-Magnin; Nilden, Gama, Salvai, Boattin (60′ Lenzini); Caruso, Rosucci, Grosso (75′ Zamanian); Cernoia (69′ Duljan), Girelli (69′ Cantore), Bonansea (60′ Bonfantini). Subs not used: Aprile, Lundorf, Sembrant, Gunnarsdóttir. Coach: Montemurro.
Referee: Fiero.
BOOKINGS: 49′ Cedeno (S), 61′ Re (S).
