Kevin De Bruyne came off the bench to inspire Napoli to a 2-0 victory over Genoa, scoring one goal and creating the other in Max Allegri’s first competitive match as head coach.
Napoli had struggled to find momentum before the Belgium international was introduced, but De Bruyne made an immediate difference. He opened the scoring in controversial circumstances before helping create the second, which Antonio Vergara eventually forced over the line.
The Partenopei began the match without any of their new signings in the starting line-up. Benoit Badiashile had only completed his move from Chelsea on the day of the game, while Alessandro Buongiorno and Luca Marianucci remained long-term absentees.
De Bruyne, David Neres and Pasquale Mazzocchi were also not considered fully fit, although De Bruyne was brought on as part of Allegri’s first round of substitutions. Genoa were without Hamed Traore, Lorenzo Venturino and Elias Havel, while Franz-Ethan Meichtry was fit enough only for a place on the bench.
The home side came closest during a lively opening period. Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret nearly presented Genoa with an early opportunity when a weak pass out from defence was intercepted. Vitinha struck the rebound narrowly wide, while Tommaso Baldanzi saw a chest-and-volley effort deflected away at the near post.
Vitinha tested Meret again, and Alisson Santos rolled an effort just beyond Rasmus Højlund before trying his luck himself with a low shot that went wide of the near post.
At the other end, Scott McTominay forced Justin Bijlow to smother a long-range effort. Napoli gradually improved after Allegri made his changes, with De Bruyne among those brought into the game.
Højlund was unable to make contact at full stretch with McTominay’s low delivery from the right, while Alessandro Marcandalli threw himself in front of a powerful attempt from Stanislav Lobotka.
Genoa continued to pose a threat on the counter-attack. Junior Messias was stopped by Spinazzola, but the loose ball fell to Sebastian Otoa, whose shot struck the side-netting.
Napoli then moved in front amid strong protests from the hosts. De Bruyne exchanged passes with Vergara, who supplied a back-heel flick, before Johan Vasquez attempted to protect the ball. The Napoli forward appeared to nudge Vasquez from behind, and when the defender failed to hold his ground, De Bruyne was able to shoot into the net from seven yards.
Genoa appealed for a foul, although Vasquez appeared to expect a free-kick decision that never came. The goal stood, giving Napoli the lead after De Bruyne’s introduction had lifted their performance.
Napoli added a second soon afterwards, with Vergara again at the heart of the move. He launched the counter-attack and sent De Bruyne into space on the right. De Bruyne’s low ball across the area evaded Lorenzo Lucca, but Vergara followed the move and guided the ball back towards goal from a difficult angle.
Otoa tried to clear the effort off the line but failed to prevent it from crossing, securing the result for Allegri’s side.
De Bruyne scored in the 82nd minute and Vergara added Napoli’s second in the 87th. The match was also followed through the liveblog.
