GENOA,
Italy, Feb 7 : Napoli's Rasmus Hojlund netted a stoppage-time penalty to snatch
a 3-2 victory at Genoa on Saturday as they finished with 10 men but closed the
gap on the top two in Serie A.
Hojlund, who
also got Napoli's first, slotted home the spot-kick five minutes into added
time as the champions moved to 49 points, still six adrift of leaders Inter
Milan but one behind second-placed AC Milan, who both have a game in hand.
It was a
controversial penalty, after a VAR review found Genoa substitute Maxwel Cornet
stood on Antonio Vergara's foot, but a major boost to Napoli hopes of retaining
the Scudetto. Napoli played out the last quarter of an hour with 10 men after
the dismissal of defender Juan Jesus.
The game
started with a VAR review that allowed Genoa to take an early lead through
Ruslan Malinovskyi’s penalty but Scott McTominay turned the tables.The Scot
provided an assist for Hojlund and hit a superb long-range strike two minutes
later for a 2-1 halftime lead.
A defensive
slip allowed Genoa to equalise through Lorenzo Colombo in the 57th minute
before the dramatic conclusion. Genoa went ahead in the third minute from the
penalty which was belatedly awarded after a VAR review.
