Without a win since Serie A’s restart and with just six to their name all season, Genoa have slipped into the relegation zone after round 31 and the timing of their demise has the threat of relegation looming large.
Their latest defeat came at the hands of a familiar foe in Napoli. The Grifone have been trying and failing to beat the Partenopei since last coming out on top against them in 2012.
Since, they’ve been made to suffer against the Campania side, and Wednesday evening was no different.
Genoa had managed to resist for the first half and looked to be getting in at the break with the scores locked at 0-0, but Dries Mertens arrived in stoppage time to open the scoring.
Despite showing some positive signs before the pandemic forced football to stop, the Rossoblu have fallen back into their old ways since Serie A’s return.
Defensive signings Andrea Masiello and Adama Soumaoro did well after coming in in January and they looked like a new side, going unbeaten in four matches against Fiorentina, Atalanta, Cagliari and Bologna, keeping three clean sheets in the process and picking up eight points.
They then stumbled against Lazio before bouncing back with a win over AC Milan at the Stadio San Siro.
Since getting back to work, though, they’ve lost three times and drawn twice, and even those draws saw them have to fight back from 2-0 behind against both Brescia and Udinese respectively.
Parma thumped them 4-1 in Liguria, Juventus brushed them aside in the second half and, now, Napoli are the latest to deliver a blow.
With SPAL, Genoa, Lecce and Sampdoria to come in their next four outings, the Grifone need to seize the opportunities against those around them.
While they’re sat in the bottom three now, it’s too early to write them off given the fixtures to come.
Inter, Sassuolo and Hellas Verona follow in their last three games, but by the time they take on the Nerazzurri they’ll have a much clearer picture of where they stand.
