Genoa were defeated by Roma 1-0 at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Sunday afternoon in Serie A.
Radja Nainggolan’s excellent first half strike was enough to give the visitors all three points and keep them just right behind Juventus in the race for the league title.
With the Bianconeri being held to a stalemate against Sampdoria, the Giallorossi were keen on closing the gap with their Scudetto rivals as the halfway point of the season approaches. Meanwhile, a recently in-form Grifone were seeking to push ahead of Lazio as they aspire to feature in the Champions League next season.
Rudi Garcia’s men clearly made their intent shown within the first 20 minutes, with Mattia Perin by far being the busiest of the goalkeepers on the pitch to keep the likes of Gervinho and Adem Ljajic at bay. Meanwhile, Alessandro Matri cut a frustrated figure as he was starved of service as his team opted to sit back and absorb as much pressure as possible.
Things quickly picked up after Perin was shown a red card after being judged to have taken down Nainggolan in the box, and this saw second-choice Eugenio Lamanna being introduced as Iago Falque was sacrificed in an emergency substitution. His first task was certainly something that many shot-stoppers certainly do not envy–preventing the opposing side from converting a spot-kick.
However, he was quick to block Ljajic’s effort to prevent Roma, now with a man up, from taking the lead. Yet, it would be in vain as five minutes from the end of the first period, Nainggolan finally got his goal after linking up well with veteran defender Maicon. The Brazilian floated a beautiful cross in for the Belgian star, who smashed a fantastic volley home, leaving Lamanna with no chance. And Genoa saw Gian Piero Gasperini dismissed during the interval, likely due to his remonstrations following Perin’s dismissal.
After the break, the hosts made a second change, hauling off the ineffective and disappointing Matri in lieu of Edenilson, but to no avail. Roma continued to pour forward in numbers and should have had another goal or two in the match were it not for the wastefulness of Gervinho, who squandered opportunity after opportunity before Garcia had enough and pulled him off to give Juan Iturbe a short run-out in the last few minutes of the game.
Despite having to play with a man less for large spell, supporters were still urging their team forward in a desperate attempt to snatch a point. But a late goal, which had Grifone fans feeling that they had equalized, was ruled out for offside and Roma were able to depart with a vital win in hand and close the gap on Juventus to just one point.
