Genoa grabbed another sensational scalp by sweeping Roma aside 4-1, including great goals from Mateo Retegui and Albert Gudmundsson, plus a debut strike for Junior Messias.
Lorenzo Pellegrini returned to support Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku, but Chris Smalling, Renato Sanches, Marash Kumbulla and Tammy Abraham were still out of action after the stalemate with Torino. The hosts had Aaron Martin suspended and Alessandro Vogliacco injured, but Junior Messias was on the bench for the first time this season, with Ruslan Malinovskyi back in the starting XI.
It was a lightning start from the Grifone, as Diego Llorente needed a desperate sliding tackle to stop Mateo Retegui tapping in the Sabelli low cross from the right, then they took the lead moments later.
Genoa won it back in midfield and Albert Gudmundsson completed a give and go with ex-Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman, feinting a shot to the far post and instead pulling it into the near bottom corner from 12 yards.
Strootman also put a ball to the back stick where Leonardo Spinazzola prevented Morten Frendrup from sliding onto it, but Genoa also lost captain Milan Badelj to a muscular injury just 10 minutes in.
Leandro Paredes blasted over from distance, but Roma equalised when Genoa thought that the ball would be put out of play for a Llorente injury, instead Leonardo Spinazzola continued and whipped in a cross for Bryan Cristante’s header from six yards.
Once the substitution with Edoardo Bove was completed, Cristante had to move into the centre-back position.
Jose Mourinho wanted Strootman shown a red card rather than yellow for his very clumsy challenge on Gianluca Mancini, but the Dutch midfielder then went off with a muscular injury, forcing a second Genoa change.
Genoa restored their advantage on the stroke of half-time with another great move from Gudmundsson, who rode two tackles cutting inside from the left, then Morten Thorsby laid it off for Retegui to control with his left knee and smash home on the volley from 12 yards with his right.
Roma moved to a four-man defence with Andrea Belotti partnering Lukaku upfront for the second half. The Belgian did have the ball in the net on 53 minutes, stroking into the far bottom corner with his weaker foot, but was offside on the Dybala pass.
Belotti harassed Mattia Bani into a panicked clearance and the Giallorossi earned a series of corners, laying siege to the Genoa defence.
Leandro Paredes saw his strike charged down, Lukaku couldn’t get the flick from six yards on a Rasmus Kristensen cross and Dybala volleyed off target after Spinazzola’s cross was cleared with difficulty.
However, it was Genoa who extended their lead with a corner gifted by Evan Ndicka’s wayward defensive header. Rade Dragusin nodded it back across the face of goal for Morten Thorsby to crouch down and glance it in from a couple of yards, kept onside by Lukaku.
Roma threw on more strikers, but it just left them more unbalanced and Genoa added a fourth. Frendrup rolled across from the left and it went past Thorsby, finding Junior Messias totally unmarked to sweep in at the back post just minutes into his Genoa debut.
Ndicka scuffed the attempted tap-in on a Stephan El Shaarawy cross, allowing Josep Martinez to make the save, while Dybala’s left-foot strike flashed over the bar.
Genoa 4-1 Roma
Gudmundsson 5 (G), Cristante 22 (R), Retegui 44 (G), Thorsby 74 (G), Messias 81 (G)
Player statistic
| Albert Gudmundsson (Assist: Kevin Strootman) |
 |
5' | ||
| 22' | |
Bryan Cristante (Assist: Leonardo Spinazzola) | ||
| Kevin Strootman |  |
26' | ||
| Stefano Sabelli | |
37' | ||
| 42' | |
Gianluca Mancini | ||
| Mateo Retegui (Assist: Morten Thorsby) |
|
45' |
| Mateo Retegui | |
65' | ||
| Morten Thorsby (Assist: Radu Dragusin) |
|
74' | ||
| Mattia Bani | |
75' | ||
| 75' | |
Leandro Paredes | ||
| Junior Messias (Assist: Morten Thorsby) |
|
81' | ||
| 89' | |
Houssem Aouar |
Match statistic
