| Sampdoria sank Udinese's Champions League hopes with a commanding display from Antonio Cassano and Claudio Bellucci, albeit thanks to a dubious penalty. This was essentially a play-off for a place in Europe and the loser would forget all hope of catching Fiorentina in fourth. Just one point separated them and it was a special occasion for Fabio Quagliarella, returning to face the club where he netted 13 goals last season. Daniele Gastaldello and Paolo Sammarco were suspended, while Luca Castellazzi, Chris Obodo, Gyan Asamoah, Dias Felipe and Antonio Chimenti were injured.
There tend to be goals galore when these teams clash, as between them they had scored 12 in the last three games home and away. Samp hoped to maintain their stunning home record with just one defeat in their last 29 matches at Marassi.
Pietro Accardi charged down an Antonio Di Natale strike in the opening 60 seconds, while Antonio Mirante rushed out to close down Simone Pepe in what the Udinese striker insisted was a foul. Antonio Cassano went on a mazy run dribbling past four players before Zapata closed him down on the edge of the box. Sampdoria thought they had taken the lead on 19 minutes when a disastrous Giandomenico Mesto backpass was intercepted by a hawk-like Claudio Bellucci. He flicked it over the goalkeeper, but Cristian Zapata sprinted back for an acrobatic goalline clearance. It was only a warning, as Sampdoria broke the deadlock with a Cassano free header from six yards, but he was left unmarked on Bellucci's set piece. Soon after, Cassano's looping header skimmed a coat of paint off the far post, but Mirante was at full stretch to parry a precise Gokhan Inler effort from the edge of the area. Udinese pushed again with a remarkable Pepe free kick from 30 metres that Mirante plucked from under the bar. Gennaro Delvecchio hit the back of the net from Cassano's assist, but it was correctly disallowed for an offside position. Di Natale should have equalised after Accardi completely missed the ball, but he lobbed wide of an open net! Just as the Friulani were pouring forward, they conceded a second on the counter. Angelo Palombo threaded through for Bellucci to place the angled drive into the far bottom corner with a snooker shot. Quagliarella scuffed his finish at the dawn of the second half, but the referee awarded a penalty to the home side when Lukovic clattered into Christian Maggio. Replays prove the contact was outside the box, but Bellucci nonetheless hit the spot-kick strongly under the bar to make it 3-0. It got worse for Udinese, as Zapotocny received a second booking for bringing down Cassano. Friulani Coach Pasquale Marino was also dismissed from the touchline for dissent. | 
