Match report
Palermo cruise past Sampdoria to stay perfect at Barbera
Palermo made it three wins from three in Serie B with a 3-1 victory over Sampdoria at the Stadio Renzo Barbera. Gabriel Strefezza opened the scoring in the ninth minute, finishing off an assist from Tommaso Augello, before Joel Pohjanpalo doubled the hosts' advantage in the 33rd to send Palermo in at the break two goals to the good.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Sampdoria pulled one back through Lorenzo Insigne in the 63rd minute, giving the visitors a foothold and cutting the deficit to 2-1. But Palermo held firm for the remainder of normal time before Antonio Palumbo, teed up by Dennis Johnsen, added a fourth-minute stoppage-time goal to seal it at 3-1 and put the result beyond doubt.
Sampdoria enjoyed more of the ball, holding 54 percent possession to Palermo's 46, and matched their hosts with 14 shots apiece, but they could not convert their share of territory into anything more than the single Insigne strike. Palermo's clinical edge in front of goal, allied to five corners won compared to Sampdoria's two, proved decisive across the ninety-plus minutes.
Pohjanpalo scored Palermo's second goal and finished as the match's top-rated performer with a 7.99 rating, edging out goalscorer Strefezza on 7.89.
Sampdoria's 54 percent share of possession was not enough to overturn Palermo's superior finishing on the day.
Palermo beat Sampdoria 3–1 (half-time 2–0).
Palermo met Sampdoria in the Serie B (Regular Season - 3). Kick-off was Monday, 7 September 2026, 18:30 UTC at Stadio Renzo Barbera. Referee: Matteo Marchetti.
Key moments
- 9' Goal: Gabriel Strefezza (assist: Tommaso Augello) — 1–0
- 33' Goal: Joel Pohjanpalo — 2–0
- 63' Goal: Lorenzo Insigne — 2–1
- 90+4' Goal: Antonio Palumbo (assist: Dennis Johnsen) — 3–1
Starting line-ups
Palermo (4-3-3)
Sampdoria (4-3-3)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Palermo 61%, the draw 30%, Sampdoria 9%. It finished Palermo 3–1 Sampdoria.
Palermo's rating gap, but the draw is in play — Palermo are clearly the stronger side on our strength rating, and that is most of Palermo's 61%. The draw at 30% is helped by a draw-heavy league.
Why Palermo at 61%?
Palermo sit 247 points higher on our strength rating — 1646 to 1399. Sides with a 200–300-point rating edge at home won 67.0% of 5,984 such games. The 300 most similar past games finished 65–21–14.
Why only 61%?
Serie B home sides under-perform the global norm — and the difference mostly flows to draws (32.2% vs 24.9% norm) and away wins (26.1% vs 30.2%). Serie B homes won 41.7% of 4,041 games vs 44.9% across all 99,965 — outside the noise band, so the tally moves accordingly. Both sides are inside their first six league games — home wins land softer this early in the season, so this trims Palermo's column. Across 11,016 opening-stretch games since 2010, home sides won 42.7% where the rating map expected 44.9%, with draws up 2.0 — negative in every season since 2018.
Why is the draw second, ahead of the Sampdoria win?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 19.6%. These teams' recent games average 2.5 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 26.2% of 27,774. Serie B runs draw-heavy, adding 7.3 points. Early-season fixtures add 2.0 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Palermo are unbeaten in their last 15 league games at home (14 wins, 1 draw), a run going back to November 2025. Rolling home runs look imposing but sides on a 6+ run won 56.2% of 13,584 games vs 54.5% class-expected — and in our walked test the rating already carried it, as it did for the season-long record. Sampdoria are winless in their last 9 visits to Palermo. "Cursed ground" stories don't survive the receipts: winless visitors won 20.4% of 5,676 return visits vs 21.4% class-expected — the rating's own read already covers it. The other measured facts on this page scored nothing either.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Palermo vs Sampdoria final score and result, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this Serie B fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
The full match report above covers the goals, key moments and stats. Explore more on the Palermo and Sampdoria team pages or the Serie B page.
Quick answers
›What was the final score of Palermo vs Sampdoria?
Palermo beat Sampdoria 3–1 (half-time 2–0).
›Who scored in Palermo vs Sampdoria?
Gabriel Strefezza (9') for Palermo; Joel Pohjanpalo (33') for Palermo; Lorenzo Insigne (63') for Sampdoria; Antonio Palumbo (90+4') for Palermo.
›Where can I watch Palermo vs Sampdoria highlights?
This page carries the full match report, stats and lineups for Palermo vs Sampdoria; goal clips are added as soon as official highlights are available.
›What is the head-to-head record between Palermo and Sampdoria?
Palermo and Sampdoria have met 10 times — 3 wins for Palermo, 1 win for Sampdoria and 6 draws.