Genoa saw off fellow Ligurian side Spezia with a 2-0 win at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Saturday afternoon, getting Round 33 of Serie A underway.
Second-half goals from Gianluca Scamacca and Eldor Shomurodov were enough for the Grifone to seal all three points and move three points clear of Spezia and, crucially, eight clear of the relegation zone.
The hosts should have gone ahead in the first half only for Mattia Destro to fluff his lines horribly. Spezia goalkeeper Ivan Provedel got the ball tangled between his feet in his own area, causing him to trip. Destro looked sure to tap into the gaping goal but seemed to take his eye off the ball and was unable to take advantage of the gift he had been presented with.
Scamacca wasn’t as forgiving in the second half though. A low strike across goal was parried by Provedel but the on-loan Sassuolo forward was placed well to tap in from under the crossbar.
Shomurodov secured the win in the 86th minute with a fine strike. Getting in on the left, the Uzbek superbly found the top corner with an effort that Provedel could do little about.
The win leaves the Grifone in 13th and on 36 points, while the Aquilotti stay 15th and five points above the relegation zone.
