Genoa-Como 0-2
GOALS: 10′ pt Douvikas; 23′ st Diao.
GENOA (4-4-2): Bijlow 6 (1′ st Leali 6); Marcandalli 5.5, Ostigard 6, Otoa 5.5 (13′ st Messias 5.5), Vasquez 6; Sabelli 5.5 (36′ st Cornet sv), Frendrup 6, Amorim 6 (25′ st Malinovskyi 6), Ellertson 6; Vitinha 5.5, Ekhator 5 (25′ st Colombo 5). On the bench: Sommariva, Doucoure, Grossi, Martin, Masini, Ndulue, Onana, Ouedraogo, Zatterstrom. Coach: De Rossi 5.5.
COMO (4-2-3-1): Butez 6; Smolcic 6, Ramon 6.5, Diego Carlos 6 (12′ st Kempf 6), Valle 6.5; Perrone 6, Da Cunha 7; Diao 6.5 (36′ st Van der Brempt sv), Paz 6.5 (1′ st Caqueret 6.5), Baturina 6 (49′ st Kuhn sv); Douvikas 7 (36′ st Morata sv). On the bench: Calvina, Tornqvist, Vigorito, Goldaniga, Lahdo, Moreno, Rodriguez. Coach: Fabregas 6.5.
REFEREE: La Penna di Roma 6.
NOTES: Clear day; playing field in good condition. Booked: Diego Carlos, Diao, Messias, Kempf. Corners: 3-2 for Como. Recovery time: 4′; 4′.
Como regains victory after over a month. Cesc Fabregas’ men beat Genoa 2-0 in the Ferraris match valid for the thirty-fourth matchday of Serie A: the goals from Douvikas and Diao were decisive. After 8′ the hosts carved out their first scoring opportunity with Vitinha who, fed by Ekhator, beat Butez but failed to hit the target. Two minutes later the Larians took the lead thanks to a goal from Anastasios Douvikas, who scored the winning header from a delicious cross from Da Cunha. Genoa tries to react, but in the 23rd minute the guests come close to doubling their lead with the usual Nico Paz, whose left-footed shot goes just wide. In the 25th minute the game was interrupted for a few seconds to allow a smoke bomb thrown into the rossoblù penalty area to be removed. In the half hour Butez makes a mistake that risks costing his team dearly, giving the ball to Vitinha, who however slips just before kicking. In a very fragmented end to the first half, the blue and white came close to doubling their lead in the 34th minute with Nico Paz, who hit the post sensationally.
In the second half Fabregas and De Rossi were forced to replace Nico Paz and Bijlow respectively due to physical problems, inserting Caqueret and Leali. In the 57th minute Butez risks again on Ekhator’s pressure, who almost misses the opponent’s goalkeeper. Genoa pushes with conviction in search of an equalizer, but struggles to create truly dangerous opportunities. In the Ligurians’ best moment, COMO found the second goal with Assane Diao: the Senegalese pounced on a cross from Baturina deflected by Caqueret and headed it home. In injury time tempers flared and La Penna was forced to draw yellow cards for Messias and Kempf. The pace of the match slowed down and favored the Como team, who managed the 2-0 lead until the final whistle, which marked their return to victory after more than a month. By virtue of this success, COMO returns to fifth place with 61 points, tied with Roma, and remains in the fight for the Champions League; while Genoa remains at 39. The Lombards will return to the field on May 2nd at Sinigaglia against Napoli; the Ligurians, however, will be guests of Atalanta at the New Balance Arena on the same day.