Ahead of Juventus’ match at Roma on Sunday evening, attention turned to the other end of the Serie A table.
Sampdoria fought back to beat fellow struggler Brescia 5-1 and inch five points above the relegation zone ahead of Genoa’s match at Hellas Verona later.
Brescia, which remained a point from safety, took the lead through Jhon Chancellor.
Sampdoria's Jakub Jankto celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during an Italian Serie A soccer match between Sampdoria and Brescia at the Luigi Ferraris stadium in Genoa, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020. (Tano PecoraroLaPresse via AP)
But Karol Linetty scored and set up the other for Jakub Jankto to put Samp ahead at the break.
Mario Balotelli thought he had leveled for Brescia but he was offside. He also missed several other chances.
Samp extended its lead with a Fabio Quagliarella penalty after Brescia defender Massimiliano Mangraviti was judged to have handled the ball.
Brescia's Jhon Chancellor celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's first goal during an Italian Serie A soccer match between Sampdoria and Brescia at the Luigi Ferraris stadium in Genoa, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020. (Tano PecoraroLaPresse via AP)
Gianluca Caprari sealed the match seconds after coming off the bench and Quagliarella added a fifth late on with a cheeky lob.
Juventus visits Roma later knowing that a win will send it two points clear of Inter Milan at the top of the table.
OTHER MATCHES
Spal remained bottom, three points from safety after a narrow 1-0 loss at Fiorentina.
Gabriel Strefezza hit the woodwork for Spal before the break but German Pezzella headed in a corner with eight minutes remaining to end Fiorentina’s four-match winless run.
Sassuolo was left five points above the drop after losing 3-0 at Udinese, while Torino beat Bologna 1-0 to move up to seventh.
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