Genoa 2-0 Juventus result, stats and report

Genoa 2, Juventus 0. Write it down. Stick it on the wall. Because what happened at the Ferraris on Wednesday night was not a fluke, and it was not bad luck. Juventus had 63 per cent of the ball. They had 17 shots. They hit the woodwork. And they lost 2-0 to a Genoa side that was outgunned in almost every statistical category except the one that matters. Goals scored. End of.

Done by Half Time

Genoa did the damage early, and that is exactly how you beat a team that controls the ball better than you. You make them chase it. Kingsley Ehizibue opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a right-foot shot, assisted by Tommaso Baldanzi. Sixteen minutes later, Baldanzi got his own name on the scoresheet with another right-foot shot. 2-0 before the half-hour mark was done. Job done, if your team has the desire and the discipline to hold it.

The thing is, Genoa defended for their lives in the second half and they deserved every second of it. They won 41 duels to Juventus's 35. They made 14 tackles to Juventus's 11. They had 10 tackles won to Juventus's 8. With 37 per cent of the ball, they competed harder than the team with 63 per cent. That tells you everything you need to know about attitude and standards on a night like this.

Juventus Were a Mess

Listen, 594 passes and zero goals is not a tactical masterclass. That is a waste of an evening. Juventus had nine shots inside the box. They had four shots on target. Their goalkeeper made zero saves because there was nothing to save at the other end. They were all volume and no conviction.

Juventus made two substitutions at half time, bringing on Nick Woltemade and Edon Zhegrova. It made no difference. By the 59th minute they were throwing on Jérémie Boga and Juan Cabal. By the 77th minute Teun Koopmeiners was coming on for Douglas Luiz. Five changes in total. When you are making that many changes trying to unlock a Genoa defence, the problem is not the substitutes. The problem is the team that started the match and did not compete from the first whistle.

Zhegrova picked up a yellow card in the 70th minute for a foul. That is the most decisive thing a Juventus player did in the second half. That is unacceptable from a squad of that calibre.

Baldanzi Was the Difference

Tommaso Baldanzi scored and assisted on the night. He was involved in both goals. The first he created, the second he finished himself. He was taken off in the 69th minute when Genoa brought on Junior Messias. By that point the work was done. Baldanzi ran the show in the first half and Juventus had no answer for him.

Kingsley Ehizibue also came off in the 69th minute, replaced by Franz-Ethan Meichtry. Ehizibue had already done his job. He scored in the 12th minute and spent the rest of the first half helping to build the fortress Genoa would defend for the next hour.

Genoa Competed. Juventus Did Not.

The thing is, Genoa only kept 37 per cent possession and still won 18 headers to Juventus's 13. They hit 55 long passes to Juventus's 38. They were direct. They were physical. They were accountable to each other. And they kept a clean sheet against a Juventus side that had scored seven goals across their previous five Serie A matches.

Genoa's goalkeeper made four saves on the night. Four saves to keep a clean sheet against a team with 17 shots and 63 per cent of the ball. That is a performance. That is desire. Genoa came in having won one and lost one of their two most recent Serie A matches before this. They had beaten Venezia 1-0 just three days earlier. They came into this with momentum at the back, and they rode it.

Juventus, on the other hand, had lost to Lazio 3-0 two weeks before this. They beat Lecce 2-0 in their last match before coming here. So they had some form behind them. It counted for nothing. The basics were not there. The desire to go and win the physical battles was not there. And when you do not compete in those moments, a team like Genoa, sitting deep and organised, will punish you on the counter every single time.

The Head-to-Head Said It All

Juventus had won the only previous meeting between these two sides in the supplied data, beating Genoa 2-0 back in April. So Genoa owed them one. They paid it back in full, with interest. The symmetry of the scoreline is not lost on me. What is lost on me is how Juventus let it happen twice in the same year against the same opponent.

Verdict

Genoa were outstanding. They set their shape, they defended their box, and two moments of quality in the first half won them the match. Ehizibue and Baldanzi were sharp, decisive, and clinical. When you get the basics right and the two men up top deliver, that is what happens.

Juventus had all the ball and none of the answers. They had more shots, more corners, more attacks, more dangerous attacks, and more passes than Genoa. They lost 2-0. I do not need a laptop to tell me what that means. It means your players did not show up when it mattered. Accountability starts at the top. But the men on the pitch have to look at themselves first. That was not good enough. Not even close. End of.