Sampdoria have moved up to fourth in Serie A by claiming a 3-1 win over 10-man Hellas Verona this evening.
Manolo Gabbiadini had the first attempt for the visitors with a powerful strike from range that forced Rafael to turn the ball behind.
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They came close again soon after when Matias Silvestre headed Gabbiadini's corner just over the bar.
Verona then found themselves down to 10 men and facing a penalty following Rafael Marquez's foul inside the box on Eder.
Eder stepped up to convert the resulting spot kick to further compound the home side's misery.
However, Verona responded well and equalised in the 37th minute through Luca Toni, who reacted quickly to turn the ball in from close range after Panagiotis Tachtsidis's shot had been spilled.
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Sampdoria restored their lead in the 58th minute when Stefano Okaka headed home Gabbiadini's cross from just inside the six-yard box.
Gabbiadini was involved once again five minutes later, as he arrived at the back post to tap in from Eder's cross.
The Blucerchiati were now firmly in command and Okaka came within inches of scoring a fourth goal with an effort that struck the post.
Sampdoria managed to comfortably see out the rest of the match and claim the win, which ended their run of three successive draws in the league.
Alex Meyers
