Rasmus Højlund converted a dramatic 95th-minute penalty to earn Napoli a 3-2 victory over Genoa at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, as the visitors survived a stirring late fightback to claim only their second away win of 2026.

Genoa, aiming to make it three straight home wins, made the perfect start when they were awarded an early penalty. Vitinha capitalised on a loose backpass before being brought down by Alex Meret, and Ruslan Malinovskyi confidently sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to give the hosts a surprise lead.

Napoli responded impressively, showing resilience to wrestle control of the contest with two goals in quick succession midway through the first half. On loan from Manchester United, Højlund was first to react after Scott McTominay’s effort was saved, tapping in the rebound to register his first Serie A goal of 2026.

Moments later, McTominay produced a moment of brilliance, creating space with a clever touch past the sliding Malinovskyi before unleashing an unstoppable long-range strike beyond Justin Bijlow. It was the midfielder’s 10th goal of the season and enough to hand Napoli a slender advantage at the interval, although his night was cut short by injury.

Napoli struggled to maintain their composure after the break, particularly in the absence of McTominay, and were punished before the hour mark. A careless moment in possession allowed Lorenzo Colombo to pounce on Alessandro Buongiorno’s mistake and race through on goal, finishing past a poorly positioned Meret to level the scores.

Things went from bad to worse for Antonio Conte’s side in the 76th minute when Juan Jesus was dismissed, receiving a second yellow card for hauling back Caleb Ekuban.

Despite their defensive lapses appearing set to cost them dearly, Napoli were handed a late reprieve when Maxwel Cornet clumsily fouled Antonio Vergara inside the area. Højlund stepped up and, despite an unconvincing strike, squeezed the penalty beneath Bijlow’s left hand to snatch all three points at the death.

The result sees Napoli reduce the gap to league leaders Inter Milan to six points, while Genoa remain six points above the relegation zone.