Napoli came from behind to defeat Genoa 2-1 at the Stadio Maradona on Sunday evening. The visitors took the lead just before half time through a clever backheel finish from Jeff Ekhator. After the break, the Azzurri mounted their comeback. Shortly before the hour mark, Frank Anguissa rose highest to head home the equaliser. With 15 minutes remaining, Rasmus Hojlund pounced in a crowded box to score his third goal in four days and complete the turnaround.
Antonio Conte shared his thoughts on the win:
“We’re experiencing something new for us, playing three matches in a week and integrating nine new players. That can put us in some difficult situations at this stage of the season.
“This is a strong group that won the Scudetto, but at the same time there are players who need time to gain experience.
“Being champions of Italy means every opponent is highly motivated against you. Tonight Genoa showed great organisation and determination. We know this won’t be an easy season, but it will be a key step toward the third year of our project.”
Rasmus Hojlund, who has now scored three goals in four days across the Champions League and Serie A, gave his view:
“I’m really happy with this win. It was hard-fought but well deserved. I just try to do my job and follow the coach’s instructions.
“Conte keeps pushing me to improve all the time. It was an important goal, and I came off because I was tired. The whole team showed great character tonight.”
Frank Anguissa, scorer of the equaliser that sparked the comeback, touched on the emotions in the squad:
“We’re absolutely delighted. We never gave up and deserved this victory. The goal was important because it allowed us to get back into the game.
“Coming from behind like this is a positive sign. We could’ve started better, but in the second half we showed the real strength of this group.”
Napoli 2-1 Genoa (HT: 0-1)
Scorers: Ekhator 34, Anguissa 57, Hojlund 75.
NAPOLI: Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Juan Jesus, Olivera (Spinazzola 50), Anguissa, Lobotka (Gilmour 44), McTominay, Politano (De Bruyne 50), Neres (Lucca 80), Hojlund.
Coach: Conte.
GENOA: Leali; Sabelli (Carboni 77), Marcandalli (Otoa 46), Vasquez, Ellertson, Masini, Frendrup, Norton-Cuffy, Malinovskyi (Thorsby 61), Vitinha, Ekhator.
Coach: Vieira.
Referee: La Penna.
