FC Juventus' Alvaro Morata (Front) scores the penalty kick during a Serie A football match between FC Juventus and Sampdoria in Genova, Italy, on March 12, 2022. (Photo by Federico Tardito/Xinhua)
ROME, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Juventus continued its unbeaten run as Alvaro Morata's double on Saturday helped the Bianconeri sail away with a 3-1 victory over Sampdoria in Serie A.
Juve was on a run of 11 games unbeaten across all competitions before Saturday's game and needed a win to consolidate its position in top four.
The away side broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute with a stroke of luck when Juan Cuadrado sprinted down the right and rolled across, with Samp's defender Maya Yoshida accidentally sliding it into his own net.
Juve made it 2-0 10 minutes later, when Moise Kean was tripped down in the box and Morata turned up to convert the spot-kick.
Samp also had a penalty in the 73rd minute, but Juve's goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny played heroics to palm away Antonio Candreva's attempt.
The home side seemed to get a lifeline 10 minutes later when Abdelhamid Sabiri's free kick took a huge deflection off Morata to loop over a helpless Szczesny, but Morata atoned for his error with a header on Manuel Locatelli's assist to seal the game 3-1.
With the win, Juve still ranks fourth with 56 points, seven points behind leader AC Milan who saw off Empoli 1-0 on Saturday, thanks to an unexpected missile from Pierre Kalulu.
Also on Saturday, Spezia dominated Cagliari 2-0, and Salernitana shared the spoils with 10-man Sassuolo at 2-2. ■
FC Juventus' Alvaro Morata scores his goal during a Serie A football match between FC Juventus and Sampdoria in Genova, Italy, on March 12, 2022. (Photo by Federico Tardito/Xinhua)
FC Juventus' Alvaro Morata celebrates his goal during a Serie A football match between FC Juventus and Sampdoria in Genova, Italy, on March 12, 2022. (Photo by Federico Tardito/Xinhua)
FC Juventus' Alvaro Morata (R) celebrates his goal with teammates during a Serie A football match between FC Juventus and Sampdoria in Genova, Italy, on March 12, 2022. (Photo by Federico Tardito/Xinhua)
FC Juventus' Alvaro Morata celebrates his goal during a Serie A football match between FC Juventus and Sampdoria in Genova, Italy, on March 12, 2022. (Photo by Federico Tardito/Xinhua)
FC Juventus' Alvaro Morata (L) celebrates his goal during a Serie A football match between FC Juventus and Sampdoria in Genova, Italy, on March 12, 2022. (Photo by Federico Tardito/Xinhua)
Sampdoria's Yoshida Maya (L) scores the own goal during a Serie A football match between FC Juventus and Sampdoria in Genova, Italy, on March 12, 2022. (Photo by Federico Tardito/Xinhua)
FC Juventus' Moise Kean (R) vies with Sampdoria's Omar Colley during a Serie A football match between FC Juventus and Sampdoria in Genova, Italy, on March 12, 2022. (Photo by Federico Tardito/Xinhua)
FC Juventus' Manuel Locatelli (L) vies with Sampdoria's Omar Colley during a Serie A football match between FC Juventus and Sampdoria in Genova, Italy, on March 12, 2022. (Photo by Federico Tardito/Xinhua)
