Hojlund hot streak continues as Napoli returns to summit
Rasmus Hojlund continued his impressive goalscoring form as Napoli came from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over Genoa.
A heavily rotated Napoli side was almost gifted an early lead in the seventh minute at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, when Alessandro Marcandalli’s mistimed lobbed back-pass bounced just wide of the post.
Despite dominating possession, Antonio Conte’s side went into half-time trailing after Genoa took an unlikely lead, courtesy of Jeff Ekhator, who combined with Brooke Norton-Cuffy before flicking the ball past Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
Napoli was then hit by a series of injuries, with Stanislav Lobotka and Matteo Politano both forced off, prompting Conte to turn to his bench after the break.
Frank Anguissa brought Napoli level minutes before the hour mark, heading home after Genoa failed to clear its lines from Leonardo Spinazzola’s cross amid a scramble in the box.
Napoli pressed hard for a winner from there, with Genoa goalkeeper Nicola Leali reacting brilliantly to deny Spinazzola before Hojlund saw a goal ruled out for offside during the build-up.
The host side eventually completed the comeback 15 minutes from time as Kevin de Bruyne’s whipped cross was set up for Anguissa, whose initial shot was saved by Leali, only for Hojlund to calmly tap in the rebound.
The win sees Napoli reclaim the Serie A summit from Roma, though Milan could overtake it if it beats Juventus later on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Genoa remains in 19th.
After its 16-match unbeaten run ended with a defeat to Milan last time out, Napoli responded strongly despite conceding first.
This marked its first Serie A win after falling behind in a match since January 2025 against Juventus (four games without a win).
But at just 18 years and 328 days, Ekhator became the youngest player to score away from home against Napoli in Serie A since Andrea Pirlo in January 1998 with Brescia (18 years and 244 days).
