Albert Gudmundsson’s crisp shot from outside the penalty area was enough to drive Genoa to a tight win over a struggling Salernitana.
The Ligurian outfit have shown some positive signs under coach Alberto Gilardino in Serie A this season, taking wins over Lazio and Roma, but their last two outings against Milan and Atalanta both ended in defeat, reminding them of the difficulties in the topflight.
Salernitana secured a 15th place finish last season after a decent campaign, but they’ve looked disastrous in the early stages of the new season, picking up just four points from their opening nine games, failing to secure a single win. A relegation battle is already looking a serious possibility.
On a warm Ligurian evening, Genoa started the match on the front foot and quickly took control of proceedings, putting Salernitana under pressure.
The deadlock was broken in the 35th minute after Albert Gudmundsson perfectly placed his outside-the-box effort in the bottom corner of the Granata net, giving the home side a 1-0 lead.
Gilardino’s side protected their lead heading into the half time break, where they replaced key striker Mateo Retegui, prompting fears of a possible injury.
Genoa started to sit back and protect their lead in the second half, pushing Salernitana to start fighting forward to try and find an equaliser. Despite dictating the pace of the game, the Campania outfit were not able to find the right combination to unlock the defence, leaving them frustrated.
The tension grew as the minutes ticked by, but Genoa were ultimately successful in their defensive efforts, seeing out the match to take home all three points.