Wasteful Inter held to goalless draw at Sampdoria
Sports
Inter Milan were held to a 0-0 draw at lowly Sampdoria in Serie A on Monday.
GENOA (Reuters) - Second-placed Inter Milan were held to a 0-0 draw at lowly Sampdoria in Serie A on Monday as Simone Inzaghi's side were left to rue a flurry of missed chances on a foggy Genoa night.
Inter have 44 points and trail leaders Napoli by 15 after 22 games, with Atalanta, AS Roma and AC Milan all on 41 points.
"Naturally, there is disappointment as we wanted to win the game," Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia. "We did not underestimate Sampdoria. We should have had a different result considering all the chances we created.
"I keep saying we need to focus only on ourselves.
"We were coming off three consecutive victories without conceding, including the Coppa Italia, so the result is not satisfactory."
Inter striker Romelu Lukaku set the tone for the match with a shot after two minutes but Sampdoria goalkeeper Emil Audero managed to tip the ball over the bar.
Lautaro Martinez then came close to scoring after 20 minutes but the Argentine international miskicked the ball inside the box, with Matteo Darmian sending his following attempt over the bar from an acute angle.
SMART DEFENCE
Inter dominated the first half but Sampdoria managed to survive wave after wave of attacks thanks to smart defensive work and a reasonable amount of luck.
The visitors started to look visibly frustrated as the clock ticked towards 90 minutes but were sloppy in their build-up, giving Sampdoria opportunities to break up the play.
"Sampdoria worked hard and closed all the spaces, but we should have done better with the final ball and our finishing," added Inzaghi.
Hakan Calhanoglu tried a shot from the edge of the box but Audero got down fast to stop the attempt.
Francesco Acerbi then came close to a winner two minutes into stoppage time but Audero again denied Inter.
Boos greeted the final whistle as the away fans vented their feelings on a frustrating night for the visitors.
The draw left second-bottom Sampdoria on 11 points, eight adrift of the safety zone.
Inter host mid-table Udinese in Serie A on Saturday before Portuguese side Porto come to San Siro for the first leg of their Champions League lat-16 tie on Feb. 22.
