Sampdoria signal intent as Lazio lament

UC Sampdoria sent an early warning to Wednesday's Coppa Italia final opponents S.S. Lazio by beating Reggina Calcio 5-0 in Genoa, while the capital club squandered a lead in their 3-1 loss to Udinese Calcio in Rome.




Rocchi opener
Lazio appeared on their way to a morale-boosting success, following back-to-back league reverses, when Tommaso Rocchi opened the scoring on 56 minutes but they were quickly pegged back by Antonio Floro Flores. The equaliser proved the catalyst for Udinese as Gaetano D'Agostino (69) made it 2-1 and Fabio Quagliarella's penalty sealed a fifth consecutive league triumph, the hosts' misery compounded by a late red card for Cristian Brocchi.

Early goal
Sampdoria, meanwhile, warmed up for their first Coppa Italia final since 1994 in style against Reggina. The southern outfit had given themselves hope of escaping relegation by taking seven points from their last three matches yet they were behind after 50 seconds when Daniele Dessena struck. Already a goal adrift, the Calabresi were soon a man down when Uruguayan defender Carlos Valdéz (18) was sent off.

Relegation worry
Sampdoria took full advantage of their numerical superiority by striking twice more before half-time through Dessena (30) and Gennaro Delvecchio (36). Guido Marilungo (46) and Giampaolo Pazzini (52) confirmed an emphatic victory which keeps Reggina bottom, three points shy of safety.