Hojlund's Last-Minute Penalty Saves Napoli from Genoa's Hurdles

Striker Rasmus Hojlund led Napoli to a 3-2 win over Genoa. (sscnapoli.it)

JAKARTA - Rasmus Hojlund's penalty in the last minute saved Napoli who played with 10 men and beat Genoa 3-2 in an Italian Serie A match at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium, Sunday, February 8, 2026 early morning WIB.

Napoli's dramatic victory. How not, Napoli had to play with 10 men after Juan Jesus received a second yellow card followed by a red card in the 76th minute. At that time the score was still tied 2-2.

But when the match was about to end, Napoli got a penalty after Maxwel Cornet's foul on Antonio Vergara in the penalty box. The referee reviewed the incident via VAR. Although there was minimal contact, the referee still concluded that there was a foul so he pointed to the white spot.

The penalty execution was completed by Hojlund who brought Napoli ahead 3-2. The penalty saved Napoli and coach Antonio Conte after a failure in the Champions League. After losing to Chelsea 3-2 at home in the European competition, Napoli immediately bounced back by defeating Fiorentina and Genoa.

Only Napoli's penalty was criticized by Genoa coach Daniele De Rossi. The reason is that Genoa was again given a penalty for a minor collision between the two players.

"I can't say any more," De Rossi said as quoted by Football Italia. "I've already touched on the penalty last week. We no longer know what kind of offense is punishable by a penalty. Football is like when I played, it's gone," he said.

"I probably need to tell the players to hide their hands in the back and not have to make tackles anymore. I don't know what sport my team plays anymore," said De Rossi.

The legend of AS Roma and once managed the club that raised him was indeed angry because he suffered a defeat in the last two matches which were decided by penalties before the match ended. In the previous match, Genoa was forced to surrender 3-2 against Lazio. And Lazio's victory was also decided by penalties before the break.

"Losing the previous two games due to a penalty in the 95th minute really made me think and could make me crazy. I told the players that they had played very well and did not deserve to lose. I said we had to stay together and focus on the next game," said De Rossi.

Genoa did show a spirit of refusal when playing at home. The match only lasted three minutes, Genoa broke Napoli's goal from the penalty spot. They got a penalty after Vitinha who ran to greet the ball was brought down by goalkeeper Alex Meret in the penalty box.

Meret had no choice but to stop Vitinha by blocking his feet. The referee reviewed the incident via VAR before pointing to the white spot. The penalty was executed well by Ruslan Malinovskyi.

Being 1-0 behind through a quick goal did not make the Napoli players' confidence fall. They immediately bounced back and played aggressively. As a result, I Partenopei did not take long to equalize the score. Hojlund successfully broke the home team's goal after welcoming the rebound ball. Goalkeeper Justin Bijlow actually could have thwarted midfielder Scott McTominay's long-range shot, but the ball then vomited which was immediately caught by Hojlund.

The goal immediately raised the adrenaline of the Napoli players. They again put pressure and just two minutes later, Napoli turned the tide. This time McTominay's long-range shot really paid off. The score changed to 2-1 for Napoi. The score remained until halftime.

In the second half, Genoa tried to get out of the pressure. They didn't take long to equalize when defender Alessandro Buongiorno made another blunder. Previously, he made a mistake that made Genoa score early. This time, he lost the ball which was successfully intercepted by Lorenzo Colombo who then made a solo run to break Meret's goal in the 57th minute.

The score was tied 2-2. In that situation, Napoli then lost Jesus who received a second yellow card in the 76th minute. He committed a foul by pulling Caleb Ekuban's jersey.

When playing with 10 people, Napoli still changed to match Genoa's game. In fact, they were able to maintain the draw until they finally got a penalty in injury time due to Cornet's foul. Hojlund also finished the penalty which changed the score to 3-2 and lasted until the end of the match.

The victory keeps Napoli in third place with 49 points. They are six points behind Inter Milan who are at the top of the table.

Meanwhile, Genoa is at the bottom of the table. They occupy the 16th position with 23 points. Five points ahead of Fiorentina who are in the relegation zone.