Associated Press
GENOA, Italy (AP) — Rasmus Höjlund scored a last-gasp penalty as ten-man Napoli won 3-2 in Genoa in Serie A, keeping the pressure on Milan’s two top clubs.
Höjlund was fortunate that Genoa goalkeeper Justin Bijlow could not stop his low shot, despite touching the ball with his arm in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
The penalty was awarded after Maxwel Cornet, who had just come on as a substitute, was deemed following a VAR review to have kicked Antonio Vergara’s foot, after the Napoli midfielder had dramatically fallen to the ground.
Höjlund’s second goal of the match moved Napoli to within one point of AC Milan and six behind Inter Milan. Both have one less game.
Napoli got off to a poor start with goalkeeper Alex Meret bringing down Vitinha after a failed back pass from Alessandro Buongiorno just seconds into the match. A VAR review confirmed the penalty and Ruslan Malinovskyi scored from the spot in the second minute.
Scott McTominay was involved in both goals as Napoli responded with a quickfire double. Bijlow saved his first attempt in the 20th minute, but Höjlund pounced on the rebound, and McTominay fired in from about 20 yards to make it 2-1 a minute later.
However, McTominay had to come off at half-time with what appeared to be a muscle injury, and another mistake by Buongiorno allowed Lorenzo Colombo to score in the 57th minute for Genoa.
Napoli central defender Juan Jesus was sent off in the 76th minute after receiving a second yellow card for holding Genoa substitute Caleb Ekuban.
Genoa looked for a winning goal, but it was the visitors who celebrated after a dramatic finish.
Relegation-threatened Fiorentina faces Torino later.
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Sports in Spanish AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
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