Hellas Verona conceded a heart-wrenching 94th-minute equaliser to 2-2 away at Genoa in Serie A on Saturday evening.
Verona took the lead in the first half through Ivan Ilic, but Eldor Shomurodov levelled at the start of the second half. Davide Faraoni scored what seemed to be the winner for Ivan Juric’s side with half an hour to go, but Milan Badelj fired in from distance in the 93rd minute.
The first half was played at a good pace but saw very few clear chances for either team until Ilic opened the scoring after 17 minutes.
Antonin Barak beat his man with a powerful run down the right and pulled the ball back where Ilic met it perfectly on the bounce to send a smart finish into the top corner from 10 yards. It was a much harder finish than the Serb made it look. There hadn’t been a sight of goal before then, but Hellas were certainly on top.
That chance was immediately followed up by a poor miss for Kevin Lasagna. He outmuscled Ivan Radovanovic and found himself through on goal with just Mattia Perin to beat, but fired wide.
Genoa started the second half perfectly, as half-time substitute Shomurodov latched onto a weak back pass to calmly equalise.
That goal was followed up by another Lasagna miss. The ex-Udinese forward danced through the Grifone defence and smashed his shot against the post.
Ivan Juric’s were well on top after the equaliser and on the hour mark, they retook the lead. Perin palmed a cross straight to the unmarked Faraoni who lashed the ball into the roof of the net.
Genoa went down to 10 men because of an injury, but Badelj rescued a point with a wonderful strike from 20 yards out. A corner was headed away but Badelj was alert and unmarked to rescue a point for Genoa.
This draw at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris leaves Hellas on 34 points, six behind 7th-placed Atalanta. They’re certainly outsiders, but Europa League qualification is not off the cards.
Davide Ballardini’s side sit 11th thanks largely to how the coach has turned things around since his appointment.
