Genoa extended their unbeaten run at home in Serie A to six matches with a narrow 1-0 victory over Udinese at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, moving within just two points of their visitors in the race for a top-half finish.
Chasing their rivals in the table, Genoa made a lively start and came close to breaking the deadlock within five minutes. Morten Thorsby’s powerful header was brilliantly tipped away by Maduka Okoye, who was soon called into action again to deny Andrea Pinamonti from close range. Udinese, meanwhile, struggled to create anything of note, failing to register a shot on target in a first half low on attacking intensity.
The visitors showed greater urgency after the restart, with Lorenzo Lucca spurning a golden opportunity just two minutes into the second half when he fired wide from inside the area. As the game wore on, Udinese grew into the contest and nearly found a breakthrough with just over 15 minutes remaining, but Rui Modesto’s header was well saved by Federico Leali.
Their lack of a clinical edge ultimately proved costly. Genoa delivered a late blow in the dying stages when Alessandro Zanoli struck powerfully into the roof of the net from a tight angle, marking his first goal since May 2023. Remarkably, it was Genoa’s 14th out of 18 home league goals this season to come in the second half.
Udinese thought they had rescued a point in the 94th minute through Modesto, but the equaliser was ruled out for offside. The defeat condemns them to a third straight loss and continues a dismal run in head-to-head encounters, having now failed to score in five of their last six meetings with Genoa.
