Genoa staged a 2-1 comeback win over Pisa to move closer to securing their Serie A survival for another season, with Jeff Ekhator and Lorenzo Colombo both on target in a crucial away victory.
Daniele De Rossi’s side arrived at the fixture looking to ease away from the relegation battle after a vital 2-1 win over Sassuolo, but they were without Ruslan Malinovskyi, Morten Frendrup and Mikael Ellertsson through suspension, while Maxwel Cornet, Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Benjamin Siegrist were sidelined by injury.
Bottom-placed Pisa also had selection issues, missing Marius Marin and Daniel Denoon.
Genoa started brightly, with Tommaso Baldanzi narrowly missing the target from distance, but it was Pisa who struck first, exploiting a familiar weakness from set pieces.
Samuele Angori delivered a precise corner and Simone Canestrelli rose highest to head into the bottom corner, despite Genoa’s protests for a foul on Stefano Sabelli, which VAR dismissed.
Pisa nearly doubled their lead immediately on the counter, but Angori failed to beat Justin Bijlow in a one-on-one situation.
Genoa gradually settled and found their equaliser from a throw-in. Baldanzi linked up with Lorenzo Colombo before laying the ball off to Jeff Ekhator, who unleashed a powerful left-foot strike into the roof of the net from just inside the box.
Just before half-time, Colombo went close to completing the turnaround with a curling effort from a tight angle that brushed the top of the crossbar, with Genoa also frustrated after appeals for a deflection were ignored.
After the break, Colombo continued to threaten, forcing a save from Semper after latching onto Baldanzi’s clever pass.
Pisa’s resistance eventually broke when Canestrelli handled in the box after slipping while attempting to stop Baldanzi, conceding a penalty.
Despite Genoa’s earlier struggles from the spot this season, Colombo stepped up confidently and fired home into the top corner.
Pisa still pushed forward, with Leo Ostigard fouling Stefano Moreo near the box, but Bijlow produced a sharp save to deny Michel Aebischer, while Semper also kept out another Colombo effort as Genoa managed the closing stages to secure a valuable win.
