Chievo 2 - 1 Sampdoria - Chievo climb away from bottom three

Posted Monday, February 16, 2015 by PA

Struggling Chievo moved four points clear of the Serie A relegation zone with a 2-1 win over Sampdoria on Sunday.

Mariano Izco put them ahead after two minutes and Riccardo Meggiorini doubled the lead six minutes before the break.

Luis Muriel grabbed a stoppage-time goal for Sampdoria but Chievo held on to make it two wins in a row.

Chievo were ahead after just two minutes but Izco received a huge slice of luck in finding the net.

The Argentinian gathered a pass from Ruben Botta and unleashed a shot which was heading across goal but took a huge deflection and beat Emiliano Viviano at his near post.

Sampdoria were looking for a swift response and almost got one as Samuel Eto'o found Pawel Wszolek but his shot was saved by Albano Bizzarri.

The action was going from end to end and Meggiorini fired wide from outside the area before Eto'o saw two speculative efforts blocked away.

Izco was in the thick of it and set up Valter Birsa but the Slovenian fired wide and Chievo had to wait until the 39th minute to double their lead.

Wszolek failed to control the ball in midfield and Meggiorini pounced, running half the length of the pitch to finish low past Viviano.

Alessio Romagnoli missed a chance to grab a goal back just before the interval and Alfred Duncan fired over the bar after the break as Samp tried to claw their way back into the game.

Duncan and Djamel Mesbah both missed further chances for the visitors but it was not one-way traffic as Izco also squandered an opportunity at the other end.

Time was running out for Sampdoria but Eto'o was still lively and missed a couple of chances in the closing stages before setting up Muriel in stoppage-time.

The Cameroonian won his battle on the edge of the box and lofted the ball into the pass of Muriel who made no mistake from six yards.

And the former Chelsea man had a chance to snatch a late point moments later but fired over the bar.