Napoli left it late after dominating proceedings but eventually Genoa beat 3-1 at the Stadio San Paulo to keep up with Juventus at the top of Serie A.
Tomas Rincon pounced on a Jorginho error ten minutes in before Gonzalo Higuain netted his 28th and 29th goals of the campaign in the second half. Omar El Kaddouri put the match to bed in stoppage time.
Genoa took a shock lead 10 minutes in courtesy of a Jorginho mistake. A misplaced pass saw the ball fall to Rincon who nutmegged Kalidou Koulibaly before smashing his effort into the roof of the net from the edge of the 18-yard box.
Higuain, Marek Hamsik and Lorenzo Insigne all had first-half efforts denied by Perin. In the 23rd minute the Italian keeper was lent a hand by defender Sebastian De Maio who cleared a Jorginho corner off the line.
Against the run of play Genoa nearly doubled their advantage on what would have been a near carbon copy of their first goal. Higuain conceded possession in a dangerous area but Blerim Dzemaili could only fire over.
Higuain finally came good after half time as in the 51st minute after Elseid Hysaj played the Argentine through, tucking his effort into the far corner of the net.
The soon-to-be Capocannoniere shockingly missed a sitter two minutes later after being played through once again, missing at the far post. Napoli continued to pepper Perin’s net with Higuain, Insigne and substitute Dries Mertens all coming close.
Substitute Alessio Cerci was Genoa’s only danger option in the second half, coming close on a couple of occasions but both times just missing at the near post.
Higuain won the match for the Partenopei in the 81st minute on his ninth shot of the evening, unleashing a sweet strike from just outside the box that bounced in off the far post.
Substitutes Manolo Gabbiadini and El Kaddouri combined to put the icing on the cake in stoppage time.
The victory keeps Napoli within three points of Juventus and seven points clear of 3rd place Roma. Genoa remain in 12th place, six points clear of the relegation zone.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com