Sampdoria's European quest takes a hit after draw with Cesena

Despite starting the game with four attackers in Eder, Samuel Eto'o, Stefano Okaka and Luis Muriel and creating multiple chances, Sampdoria could not find a way through.

Samp's Alessio Romagnoli had the best chance of the game with 14 minutes left but his header following a corner was acrobatically kicked off the line by Stefano Lucchini.

Samp moved up to joint fourth on 50 points from 31 games, level with Napoli and one point ahead of Fiorentina, who play against Cagliari and Hellas Verona on Sunday and Monday respectively.

The top three are Champions League berths with fourth and fifth the Europa League spots and sixth also worth a place in qualifying for Europe's second tier competition depending on the winners of the Coppa Italia.

Cesena are in 18th place with 23 points, six adrift of Atalanta and the safety zone having played a game more.

Leaders Juventus did their bit to extend their advantage, beating second-placed Lazio 2-0 with goals from Carlos Tevez and Leonardo Bonucci to take another big step to retaining their title.