Sampdoria 2 Juventus 0: Allegri suffers late defeat in final game

Juventus failed to give Massimiliano Allegri a winning send-off as late goals from Gregoire Defrel and Gianluca Caprari secured a 2-0 win for Sampdoria on Sunday.

The Old Lady have made a habit of winning under Allegri during his five years in charge, lifting five successive league titles, though they fell short of those standards in Genoa and dropped points for a fifth Serie A game on the bounce.

There was a distinct end-of-season feel to the majority of the first half, with excitement lacking and clear-cut chances at a premium.

Proceedings picked up at the start of the second period, with Juve going close three times and having a Moise Kean goal disallowed, but Sampdoria s more clinical finishing saw them claim victory.

Defrel opened the scoring six minutes from time and Caprari s gorgeous free-kick allowed Samp to finish the season in style.

FT: A championship-winning season draws to a close.

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen)

It took 34 minutes for the game to show signs of life, as Gaston Ramirez s cross picked out Serie A top-scorer Fabio Quagliarella and his acrobatic volley from a tight angle found the side-netting.

Juve responded and went even closer a few moments later, but Paulo Dybala could not bundle in from close range, with Jacopo Sala making a vital last-ditch intervention.

The visitors played with greater intent at the start of the second half, with Kean shooting just wide from 12 yards and Dybala striking a volley agonisingly over shortly after the restart.

Kean thought he had broken the deadlock with 10 minutes to go when finding the net after latching on to a throughball, but it was disallowed for offside.

And Sampdoria capitalised soon after, as Defrel found the bottom-left corner with a scuffed effort after linking with Manolo Gabbiadini.

Caprari wrapped things up at the end, firing his unstoppable free-kick into the top-right corner from 25 yards, bringing the curtain down on Allegri s decorated Juve spell.

What does it mean? An underwhelming end to Allegri s tenure

Although the match mattered little, with Juve long having wrapped up the Serie A title, there will surely be a little disappointment from Allegri s perspective, as his tenure ends with a 2-0 defeat amid a poor run of one win in nine across all competitions.

Nevertheless, he will likely be content with being able to give some of the club s youngsters an outing.

Pereira enjoys a promising first start

Brazilian midfielder Matheus Pereira has not quite managed to live up to the early expectations of him yet, but he made his first start for Juve s senior side on Sunday and certainly did not look out of place. He produced some inventive passes and showed an eye for a cross, generally appearing entirely at ease with top-flight football.

75 Into the final 15, let s get a goal boys! [0-0]

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen)

Dybala fails to take the lead

With Cristiano Ronaldo not involved, the opportunity was there for Dybala to be Juve s star man in attack, but he struggled to make much of an impact and lost possession more times than all of his team-mates, bar Juan Cuadrado.

Key Opta facts

Juventus have failed to win in five successive Serie A games for the first time since 2010.
Juve lost on the last Serie A match-day for the first time since 2013, also against Sampdoria at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Defrel scored his 40th Serie A goal to help set up his 50th victory in the competition.
Only in 2016-17 with Pescara (nine) has Caprari scored more top-flight goals in a campaign than his six this season.

What s next?

A busy close-season beckons for Juve, as they search for Allegri s replacement and look to bolster their squad, with Paul Pogba among those linked. Sampdoria s priority will be keeping hold of sought-after players such as Karol Linetty, Dennis Praet, Joachim Andersen and Jakub Jankto, or adequately replacing those who depart. Free-scoring Quagliarella is said to be close to returning to Napoli.

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