Serie A | Genoa 2-0 Venezia: Pinamonti and Cornet earn Grifone late win

Andrea Pinamonti and Maxwel Cornet curled two spectacular efforts home in the last ten minutes to earn Genoa a 2-0 win over Venezia, which propels them to 11th in Serie A with 30 points.

Mario Balotelli was once again left out of the Rossoblu squad, while injuries to Milan Badelj and Morten Thorsby depleted Patrick Vieira’s midfield.

The visitors were desperate to secure their first Serie A win in almost two months and take advantage of slip-ups from the teams above them. However, they came into the game without injured players Alfred Duncan, Marin Sverko, Michael Svoboda, and Domen Črnigoj, as well as long-term absentee Filip Stankovic.

As much as Vieira seemed to opt for an offensive setup, the Grifone initially struggled to capitalize on their volume of play in the opening 45 minutes, with an Andrea Pinamonti header easily saved by Ionut Radu being the only shot on target produced by the hosts.

On the other hand, the Lagunari focused on closing every gap and limiting a lively Junior Messias, while also trying to pose a threat on counter-attacks and set pieces. Gaetano Oristanio and Hans Nicolussi Caviglia forced two saves from Nicola Leali, but it was Kike Perez who wasted Venezia’s greatest opportunity of the game, as he nullified Alessio Zerbin’s brilliant work by sending his smart cut-back over the bar.

Things shifted after the break, with the visitors looking more fragile as they tried to cope with Genoa’s mounting pressure.

Vitinha’s dangerous run into the box and Pinamonti’s left-footed effort, both saved by Leali, were just the prelude to a further wave of attacks in the final 25 minutes, during which Vieira’s decision to bring on Caleb Ekuban and Maxwel Cornet paid off.