In-form Samp set lofty targets

Inter are dominating the scene in the Serie A but Sampdoria are also leaving their mark.

Last Sunday, the Blucerchiati emerged on top from a highly-contested derby against Genoa. They won 1-0 courtesy of a last-gasp goal from Christian Maggio for Samp to confirm their rich vein of form.

Walter Mazzarri's side are currently seventh in the standings, just two points adrift of sixth-placed Udinese. A top-six finish looks to be within Sampdoria's possibilities particularly in the wake of Udinese's inconsistent run of late.

If the last month or so is anything to go by, then there are strong indications that Sampdoria are getting stronger as the competition intensifies whereas Udinese somewhat fell off the pace even though they were back to winning ways on Sunday with a 3-1 away win at lowly Reggina.

A more ambitious top-four position is still within Sampdoria's reach as currently they trail Fiorentina by seven points. However, they have a tough fight in their hands to fulfil this objective as they have to face two of their direct opponents for the last available Champions League slot, Milan and Fiorentina, away from their Luigi Ferraris stadium. Samp host Udinese on the 15th day.

So far, Sampdoria have already collected seven points more than they had after 23 games last season when under the charge of Walter Novellino. However, they need to continue showing signs of improvement and maintain a high level of consistency if they are to make a creditable challenge for a place in Europe.

It will not be easy though because teams like Milan and Fiorentina have more strength in depth than the Genoa outfit. However, one point in their favour, and also for Udinese, is the fact Samp can concentrate solely on the Serie A. They are out of European club competitions this season. So, their only focus will be the domestic league targets.

Samp's formidable home record is key to their rise in the standings. Of the 34 points they collected so far, 24 came from home fixtures. Milan were the only team that conquered the Luigi Ferraris stadium this season.

However, the same cannot be said of Samp's away record - just three wins and a draw from 12 excursions... indeed, not an impressive showing at all.

Mazzarri's influence

Mazzarri is the man behind Sampdoria's drive. After steering Livorno to the top flight in his debut season in Serie B in 2003/04, he spent three years in Reggio Calabria, helping Reggina avoid the big drop in each and every season.

But his biggest achievement to date came last year when he succeeded in steering the southerners out of troubled waters despite having to start with a hefty 11-point penalty, following their involvement in the match-fixing scandal.

Many reckon that, given the quality of players he has at Sampdoria, Mazzarri can achieve much more.

He was instrumental in moulding a team that functions like a unit and is obtaining satisfactory results despite a restricted financial budget. Credit should also be given to Mazzarri for having rejuvenated the career of rebel Antonio Cassano.

Mazzarri seems to have tamed the ex-Bari, Roma and Real Madrid stalwart and, more importantly, is bringing the best out of him.

No wonder that Cassano has been Samp's most influential player in recent outings.

If motivating Cassano has been a daunting task, helping Sampdoria making a quantum leap in quality in terms of results and targets reached, may prove to be an even taller order for Mazzarri.

The omens are good though and Samp are on the right track.

Serie A statistics

0 wins for Catania in 11 visits to Fiorentina's Artemio Franchi stadium. Last weekend, Fiorentina made another step towards obtaining a top-four finish at the end of the season thanks to a hard-fought, though deserved, 2-1 victory over the Sicilians. For Silvio Baldini's Catania this was their third straight defeat and overall their seventh winless game in a row (two draws and five defeats). Catania have not recorded a single positive result in Tuscany against Fiorentina since a 1-1 draw on February 14, 1971. Napoli continued to fall further off the pace as they were soundly beaten by Empoli at home. This was Empoli's first ever win in four visits to the San Paolo stadium.

1 point only collected by relegation-threatened Reggina in their last four outings. On Sunday, the southerners were defeated at home by Udinese 3-1 for the second time in four years. For the northeasterners this was their first success after a barren run of four winless games in a row (one draw and three defeats). Reggina, who are only three points away from safety despite their uninspiring run of late, have collected a staggering 15 points less than they had after 23 games last season. Francesco Guidolin's Palermo bounced back from their recent opaque performances by overcoming bottom side Cagliari by the odd goal in three. The victory was only Palermo's third success - the first since December 2004 (3-0) - in seven home encounters with the Sardinians. Prior to Sunday, Cagliari were coming from a three-match positive run (one win and back-to-back draws - vs Juventus and Parma).

2 wins and two draws have enabled Torino to move out of troubled waters. On Sunday, in a decisive end-to-end clash, Walter Novellino's side played a containing game as they settled for a goalless draw against in-form Siena in Tuscany. Lazio bounced back from their unexpected defeat to Empoli the week before by beating Atalanta 3-0 and record their second successive home win (following the 2-1 victory over Sampdoria). This was Lazio's third straight home win over the Bergamo team. Atalanta have last left the capital unbeaten on February 23, 2003 (0-0). Moreover, Atalanta have recorded their most recent of 10 wins in 41 visits to the Olympic Stadium in October 1997 (2-0).

3rd win on the trot for buoyant Inter as the champions found little, if any, difficulty in beating Livorno at their Giuseppe Meazza stadium. The Tuscany side have last left Milan unbeaten after playing against Inter on January 12, 1947 (1-1). Their most recent of only two wins in 16 visits to the Meazza dates back to November 22, 1942 (1-0). Inter's win, coupled with Roma's setback against Juventus in Turin on Saturday, enabled the Serie A pace-setters to increase their lead at the top of the standings to 11 points. For Roma this was their second consecutive away defeat, following their upset to Siena (0-3). Roma have a truly dire record in Turin against Juventus, where they have prevailed only seven times in 74 visits. Their most recent success came in September 2001 (2-0).

4 players - Sacramento Danilo (Genoa), Maurizio Domizzi, Marcelo Zalayeta (both Napoli) and Felice Piccolo (Empoli) - received marching orders by referees last weekend. Tommaso Rocchi ably transformed two penalties for Lazio on their way to a comfortable 3-0 home win over Atalanta. In Serie A, Inter possess the most prolific attack (48 goals in favour) and the best defensive record in the entire division (13 goals against). On the other hand, bottom-of-the-class Cagliari have the poorest scoring record (only 18 goals to their credit) and the worst defensive record, having conceded 41 goals. Catania, Parma and Reggina have yet to record an away win this season. Udinese and Reggina are still without a penalty in favour. Inter have benefited from the highest number of penalties so far - eight. Sampdoria and Fiorentina have had only one penalty against.

19 years had to pass for Sampdoria to return to winning ways in a derby hosted by their rivals Genoa in the Serie A. A last-minute goal from Christian Maggio gave Sampdoria their second win in a row (following their 2-0 home success over Napoli). With a significant plus seven, Sampdoria are the side which has registered the most significant improvement in terms of points with respect to last season. In a poor, almost lifeless, match Parma and Milan shared the spoils for the first time since November 2003 (0-0). Third-from-bottom Parma have now gone seven consecutive Serie A games without a win (three draws and four defeats). Parma have not beaten the Rossoneri at home since a 1-0 victory in April 2003.

21 goals were scored on the 23rd day: 12 coming from the hosts and the remaining nine from the visitors, who managed three wins. Foreign players in the Serie A contributed with nine goals while there were 10 first-half goals. Total number of goals scored so far tally to 582. Neither hat-tricks nor goals by substitutes were recorded. Palermo's Uruguayan import, Edison Cavani, committed the only own goal of the day. Four players - Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Nicola Pozzi (Empoli), David Suazo (Inter) and Tommaso Rocchi (Lazio) - grabbed a brace each to help their respective sides cruise to significant wins. Juve's David Trezeguet still leads the scorers' list with 15 goals (one from a penalty). The Frenchman is closely followed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter) and Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina), both with 14 goals. Marco Borriello (Genoa) is the most prolific Italian player so far (12 goals).