Genoa made it four wins from their last five home games with a 2-1 victory over AS Roma at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, dealing a blow to their opponents’ top-four ambitions.
Roma came into the match desperate for three points to keep their Champions League hopes alive after throwing away a two-goal lead in a 3-3 draw with Juventus last time out. A fixture against a Genoa side battling near the bottom looked like a good chance to bounce back, but it turned out to be anything but straightforward.
The opening half offered little in the way of excitement. Genoa shaded it in terms of attacking intent, with Junior Messias going closest with a shot that Svilar handled without difficulty. Roma were barely any better, with Devyne Rensch’s off-target effort the sum total of their attacking threat before the break.
The second half came to life quickly. Genoa were awarded a penalty after Mikael Ellertsson was fouled by Lorenzo Pellegrini inside the area, and Messias buried the spot kick for his third league goal of the season.
Roma responded rapidly when Evan Ndicka nodded in a looping header, moments after Messias had cleared a Gianluca Mancini effort off his own line. Substitute Lorenzo Colombo tested Svilar with an acrobatic attempt, but neither side could find a decisive breakthrough and the game quietened down again.
Genoa had the final say when substitute Vitinha tapped in Patrizio Masini’s low cross to win it late on.
Roma are now just a single point above fifth-placed Como ahead of their meeting next week, while Genoa sit six points clear of the drop zone with a home game against bottom-three side Hellas Verona to come.
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