Genoa soared up the Serie A table with a commanding 3-0 triumph over Cagliari, thanks to goals from Lorenzo Colombo, Morten Frendrup, and Leo Ostigard.
The clash, a crucial relegation battle, saw both sides come in off dramatic draws, Genoa had squandered a last-minute penalty against Milan, while Cagliari staged a remarkable comeback from 2-0 down to draw with Cremonese.
Genoa were without Albert Gronbaek, Caleb Ekuban, Junior Messias, Maxwel Cornet, Benjamin Siegrist, and Jean Onana.
Cagliari, meanwhile, missed Yerry Mina, Alessandro Deiola, Michael Folorunsho, Andrea Belotti, and Mattia Felici.
Under seven minutes on the clock, Genoa broke the deadlock. Colombo timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap, meeting a precise through ball from Ruslan Malinovskyi. His angled strike marked his third straight Serie A game finding the net.
Cagliari responded with urgency. Alessandro Marcandalli blocked a Sebastiano Esposito tap-in from Marco Palestra’s cross, while Leo Ostigard intercepted Michel Adopo’s shot inside the box.
Palestra’s powerful volley rattled the crossbar after Nicola Leali punched a free kick to safety, and Malinovskyi’s trademark long-range effort was pushed over by Elia Caprile. Leali also kept out a dangerous Esposito free kick under the bar.
Genoa nearly doubled the lead early in the second half, as Caprile parried Colombo’s header into Ostigard’s path, but the defender couldn’t keep the rebound down. Cagliari had their chances too, Zito Luvumbo went one-on-one, but Leali rushed out to smother the opportunity.
Aaron Martin’s low cross caused chaos in the box, yet Sebastiano Luperto scrambled the loose ball to safety, and Leali later tipped Idrissi’s strike from distance.
Genoa eventually extended their lead when Frendrup capitalized on a weak clearance from Luperto, firing a scorching effort from distance that deflected off Matteo Prati and wrong-footed Caprile.
Shortly after, Ostigard, the club’s leading scorer this season, added a third with a quirky glancing header from Martin’s free kick that ricocheted off his back.
This marked Genoa’s first win since December and lifted them level with Cagliari in the league standings, providing a much-needed boost in the fight to avoid relegation.
