Genoa 3 - 0 Sampdoria

Genoa 3-0 Sampdoria

Updated: November 29, 2009, 8:57 AM UK

Genoa thrashed city rivals Sampdoria 3-0 in an action-packed game which featured three red cards at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Saturday night.

Omar Milanetto put Genoa ahead from the penalty spot in the 10th minute with Marco Rossi adding a second in the 53rd and Raffaele Palladino scoring the third from the penalty spot in the 75th minute.

Giuseppe Biava was sent off in the 45th minute with Marco Rossi following him in the 66th minute and Fabrizio Cacciatore leaving Samp with nine men in the 88th minute.

Genoa held the upper hand in the two derbies last season, winning both in a year when the Rossoblu half of the city had more to smile about.

This year Samp came into the game holding a four-point advantage over their neighbours and looking to complete a shift in power back to the Blucerchiati, but Genoa had other ideas.

They went ahead in the 10th minute when Reto Ziegler was adjudged to have pushed Rodrigo Palacio to the ground as he cut in from the right.

Milanetto stepped up to stroke home the spot-kick and give the home side an early advantage.

Genoa threatened a second as Ziegler almost scored an own goal in the 22nd minute when he hit Giuseppe Sculli's low cross against the outside the post with Palacio ready to pounce.

A poor clearance from Ziegler then gave Palladino possession in a dangerous position, but the Genoa striker was too late in seeing Palacio in acres of space on the other side of the field and the chance was wasted.

Palladino was then the victim of a costly oversight on the part of Sculli, who should have provided him with a simple tap-in in the 37th minute, but instead went for glory himself after being put through by Milanetto only to drag his shot wide.

Moments earlier, Samp goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi instinctively tipped a header by Biava onto the crossbar as the home side hit the woodwork for the second time.

But the first half ended on a sour note for the home side as they lost Biava to a second yellow card as he intentionally handled the ball to prevent Antonio Cassano from breaking.

Genoa are used to adversity, having received more red cards than any other side in Serie A this season, and they are used to winning the hard way too after some heart-stopping moments on their way to victory in their last two home games against Lille and Siena.

But there were to be no nail-biting moments for the home fans this time as Rossi doubled their lead early in the second half, passing the ball through Castellazzi's legs after being left alone by the luckless Ziegler.

Ziegler was absent again as Rossi played in Milanetto, whose attempted cheeky lob over Castellazzi did not quite clear the Samp goalkeeper in the 56th minute.

And Ziegler's night got worse in the 75th minute when he gave away his second penalty of the night, this time fouling Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

Palladino this time assumed the responsibility to beat Castellazzi from the spot.

Samp ended the game with nine men when Cacciatore was sent off with two minutes remaining as tempers flared at the end of a dramatic Derby della Lanterna.