Sampdoria hold AC Milan to draw, reclaim fourth place in Serie A

By foxsports
Published

Sampdoria reclaimed fourth place in Serie A from Napoli by holding AC Milan to a 1-1 draw at San Siro.

Temporarily dislodged following the southerners' earlier 3-0 victory over Fiorentina, Samp took the lead shortly before the hour mark as nifty footwork from Samuel Eto'o set up Roberto Soriano.

Nigel de Jong equalized with an acrobatic goal but the Rossoneri could not push on to force a third straight win and Filippo Inzaghi's men remain a distant ninth in the table.

With long-term title challengers Roma drawing at Torino, they are now only six points above Samp in third place - the final Champions League spot.

The highlight of a first half that was short on quality would be a partial power cut in the stadium.

Milan inspired on the 15-minute mark when Marco Van Ginkel's drive forced Emiliano Viviano into a fingertip save and Eto'o returned the favor with a shot from 25 metres that fizzed wide.

There was otherwise a lack of incision and Viviano easily blocked Mattia Destro's header with Stefano Okaka hitting off target before the lights went out.

After a brief pause, on-loan Atletico Madrid winger Alessio Cerci got Viviano working with an effort from the right, but it was soon time for a break.

Samp returned to the pitch full of intent and Eder soon gave Diego Lopez a real scare with a powerful free-kick towards the near post.

The visitors continued to turn the screw and made the breakthrough in the 58th minute.

Jeremy Menez's misjudged backheel lost Milan possession and Eto'o capitalised by nutmegging Philippe Mexes to find Soriano for a straightforward finish.

Milan almost equalized when Menez found Destro in the area but Angelo Palombo managed to cover before the Italy striker could clip home.

The leveller arrived on 74 minutes, as De Jong beat Viviano with an overhead kick when Samp failed to clear their lines from a corner.

Substitute Suso rattled the post with Viviano stranded as Milan tried to force the issue, but the Blucerchiati were able to grind out the remaining minutes and hold onto a valuable point.