Genoa – Ten points out of 14 won at home. In six matches played in front of 30,000 Ferraris fans, there were 3 wins, 2 defeats and a draw. The good margin that Genoa was able to put between itself and the safety zone was built above all within friendly walls. And this despite the fact that very respectable teams have passed through Marassi: apart from the debut with the clear defeat against Fiorentina, Milan only managed to take full spoils at the end thanks to Pulisic’s much disputed goal while both Napoli and Roma left heavy points . «When we play at home there is something magical», said Alberto Gilardino at the end of the victory over Verona, another direct competitor who, after Salernitana, left Ferraris with zero points. The speech made by the rossoblù coach, however, went further and also analyzed the Grifone’s behavior away from Genoa. A trend which, beyond the exploit on the second day of the championship with the victory over Lazio, is decidedly different from that at Ferraris.
In the other six matches played away from home, in addition to the three points at the Olimpico the rossoblù only achieved a draw in Udine, a field on which Gilardino’s team certainly deserved more (victory in the pocket, but own goal to make it 2-2 in added time). Although with different dynamics and trends, the rossoblù failed to score points in Turin, Lecce, Bergamo and Cagliari. With Juric’s Granata the joke came in full injury time after a substantially ugly but balanced match while against the Salento team, after playing for almost an hour in numerical inferiority due to Martin’s expulsion, the rossoblù had to surrender to the goal of Oudin. Even in Bergamo, Genoa withstood the blow of Gasperini’s team, even coming close to equalizing in the final with Puscas, while in Cagliari the rossoblù probably should and could have done something more. Especially after having had the ability to immediately regain the equalizer thanks to the genius of the usual Gudmundsson.
TO this point of the tournament, the desire to change the roadmap far away dal Ferraris can represent another step of growth. The confirmation comes from Gilardino himself, evidently happy with the rossoblù’s performance at the Ferraris but convinced that the away team can do better. «Our skill will be to find that alchemy and consistency that we have at Ferraris even away from home – explained the coach – this is the objective. We must always set ourselves goals to achieve and this can be one of those.”
As Kevin Strootman also explained, Genoa is a team that «if it lowers its pace and intensity it is less strong». And so to continue to get the most out of him, the rossoblù coach, starting tomorrow, will begin to push on this factor too. Not only because the next match will be away against Frosinone, but because Genoa will play many direct clashes in the coming weeks far from the bedlam of Marassi. After the trip to Lazio, the rossoblù will face Monza, Sassuolo away from home before the end of the first round and Bologna on the last day (Empoli, Juventus and Inter will arrive at Ferraris instead). Although former Thiago Motta’s team is going through a good period of form, they are all teams against which the rossoblù have what it takes to get a result.
Seven national teams will be missing in the next few days (Dragusin, Puscas, Kutlu, Malinovskyi, Vasquez, De Winter and Fini) and the coach will also have to deal with the injury issue, with Ekuban and Bani who will undergo tests tomorrow and with Retegui and Messias who are expected to be given the green light to join the squad companions. The group, therefore, will not be complete, but this will not stop Gilardino who now wants to continue to keep the hot zone of the standings at a distance: to do so he will also need the points gained away from home. Closing the first round in a comfort zone would guarantee Genoa a second part of the season with the desire and enthusiasm of those who want to continue to amaze and climb positions in the standings.
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