Key Highlights
Genoa edged a tightly contested contest at Stadio Ettore Giardiniero Via del Mare, winning by two goals to one thanks to an early strike and a second from Junior Messias, who was named player of the match. The scoreline flattered neither side: Genoa’s clinical moments in the first half proved decisive while Lecce were left to chase after the break.
First Half
Genoa arrived with a blunt, efficient opening flourish and laid the groundwork for the result in the first half. The visitors enjoyed slightly more of the ball and produced the clearer openings early on, Milutin Osmajić finishing a well-timed move in the eleventh minute after a decisive pass from Junior Messias. Messias then made the scoreline his own when he tucked home a left foot finish in the twenty eighth following a neat relay from Stephan El Shaarawy. Lecce fought back before the interval; their forwards and wide players forced saves and generated the greater volume of shots and shots on target, and Youssef Maleh punished a free kick on the edge of the area to reduce the deficit. The half was described as evenly balanced for momentum and that assessment held up on the pitch: Genoa led by two goals to one at half time.
Second Half
After the break possession shifted in Lecce’s favour and they dictated long periods, completing far more accurate passes and pressing for the equaliser. Genoa were compact and relied on moments of counter pressure, and both sides produced brief, promising spells without finding a way through — Genoa’s best surge in the early seventies and Lecce’s finest period from the seventy seventh to the eighty fifth minute each came to nothing. Lecce brought fresh legs around the hour mark and tested the goalkeeper with several saved attempts, including two late efforts from Amar Fatah, but could not convert sustained dominance into a goal. The match finished with Genoa winning by two goals to one.
Closing Thoughts
For Genoa the victory extends a winning run to three league matches under Daniele De Rossi and moves them a place above their hosts in the lower reaches of the table, offering a morale-boosting home test against Milan next week. For Lecce the defeat is a third straight league reverse and will increase pressure on Eusebio Di Francesco as his side travel to Torino; their dominance after half time proved insufficient, a reminder that shots and possession must be matched by clinical finishing if they are to halt a worrying slide. Junior Messias’s influence, as both provider and scorer, was the day’s decisive factor and the clearest explanation for Genoa leaving with the points.
