Como Women come from behind to beat Sampdoria 2-1: Nischler's double gives the team a Serie A points record

At "La Sciorba” in Genoa, Como Women won 2-1 against Sampdoria in a match valid for the ninth day of the Serie A women's championship eBay. The game began with good rhythm, and from the early minutes Sampdoria showed more aggressiveness, driven by the need to achieve a result to stay in Serie A. The strong start of the home team was rewarded immediately in the 3rd minute when Llopis took the lead with a powerful left-footed shot from inside the area, taking advantage of a well-executed free kick managed by Heroum, who skilfully headed the ball on. Como took a while to find their footing, but in the 10th minute, Kramzar attempted a back-to-goal shot, sending the ball high over the crossbar. However, Sampdoria remained lively and came close to doubling their lead in the 30th minute with Cimò, who narrowly missed the target with a deflection in front of goal from a precise Llopis cross. The equaliser for Sottili's girls came a few minutes later in the 35th minute when Nischler, quick to read the action, anticipated everyone in the area and precisely turned the ball into the net, beating Tampieri. Towards the end of the half, Nischler again tried from a free kick from 25 yards, but the shot went wide. The first half ended tied at 1-1.

In the second half, the match remained open and combative, with chances on both sides. Sampdoria had a great chance in the 52nd minute with Re, who failed to find the decisive touch in front of Aprile from a precise Llopis cross from the left. Como responded immediately after with Nischler, who shot from outside after winning a tackle, but the shot was central and blocked by Tampieri. With the introduction of Guagni, who took over the captaincy from Picchi, Como gained ground and in the 63rd minute created another good chance: her cross from the left found Kramzar at the far post, but her angled shot didn’t find the target. Sampdoria tried to strike on the counterattack and in the 67th minute came close to scoring with Arcangeli, launched vertically by Re: the shot was deflected just enough by Aprile to go over the crossbar. Ten minutes from the end, Como Women took the lead with Nischler, the undisputed protagonist of the day. The midfielder received the ball from Kerr, calmly controlled it at the penalty spot, and placed a precise right-footer into the far post, leaving Tampieri motionless: it was her second goal of the match and her tenth of the season. In the final moments, Sampdoria gave it their all, pushing forward in search of an equaliser, but Sottili's team held firm and secured the 2-1 victory. The team celebrated a record number of points in Serie A, reaching 35 points in the standings.

Post-match Statements

Words from Nadine Nischler, the scorer of the brace: “Ten goals in the championship? I'm delighted; in my first year in Serie A, I would never have expected something like this, it's incredible. I'm satisfied with the victory.”

Game analysis by Stefano Sottili: “It was a game played with great intensity by both teams; it almost seemed like a play-out because on one side there was a team playing its last chance to remain in Serie A. Our opponents put everything they could into the game in terms of character and drive, as was right, and we responded with the same attitude. It wasn't a particularly brilliant game technically and qualitatively, but our response in terms of character was strong and concrete. In the past, when we fell behind, we haven't always been able to react, while today we held our ground, and that's a sign of growth.”

On the team and individual records and rankings: “Today's victory is certainly a small consolation, but it remains an important result: with these three points we have set the absolute record of points for Como in Serie A. There is also satisfaction for Nischler, a girl who started from Serie C, experienced her first season in Serie A, reached double figures in the league and earned her first call-up to the senior national team. These are important signals that show how much good work has been done. Those who reduce this season to the fact of not reaching the top five probably haven't understood what we have built to have been in contention until the last day of the regular season for that goal.”

Match Summary

Sampdoria Line-up: 1 Tampieri; 2 Panzeri, 23 Pisani, 11 Heroum, 26 Bertucci (45’ Nano); 44 Barbieri (76’ Colombo), 40 Fallico (80’ Rossi), 21 Re; 24 Baldi (62’ Arcangeli), 14 Cimò (76’ Burbassi), 17 Llopis. Coach: Fabrizio Casazza

Available: 16 Larsen, 36 Nespolo, 8 Bercelli, 32 Pittaccio, 35 Zilli.

Como Women Line-up: 12 Aprile; 2 Marcussen, 17 Sagen, 44 Bou I Salas, 6 Bergersen (56’ Guagni); 16 Karlernäs (57’  Del Estal), 20 Vaitukaitytė, 21 Picchi (82’ Hansen); 33 Kramzar, 7 Nischler (82’ Conc); 28 Kerr (90’ +1 Engman). Coach: Stefano Sottili 

Available: 1 Schroffenegger, 22 Gilardi, 23 D’Agostino, 25 Marchiori, 30 Ruma, 36 Soggiu.

Goalscorers: 3’ Llopis (Sampdoria), 35’ and 80’ Nischler (Como Women)

Yellow cards: 69’ Sagen (Como Women), 82’ Panzeri (Sampdoria), 90’+4’ Arcangeli (Sampdoria)

Red cards: 0

MVP: Nischler

Referee and Assistants: Di Mario Leonardo, Savasta Lorenzo, D’Ettorre Fabio and El Amil Hamza.