Genoa forward C. Ekuban scored a rovesciata to help his side overturn a deficit and beat Lecce 2-1 on April 12, completing a comeback that also featured a goal from Retegui and lifted the Rossoblù to 39 points in Serie A.
The result matters because Genoa, sitting 13th with a record of ten wins, nine draws and fourteen defeats, have been grinding through a season in which their attack — 40 goals in 33 matches — has rarely been prolific enough to absorb defensive lapses. A win built on individual invention, rather than structural dominance, is exactly the kind of result De Rossi's side needed to consolidate mid-table.
For Ekuban personally, the goal arrives at a moment when his season numbers have been modest. In 28 appearances, the 32-year-old has contributed four goals and one assist, averaging a rating of 6.60 — figures that reflect a player operating reliably within a system rather than driving it. An overhead kick goal, by its nature, is not the product of a system; it is a moment of technical decision-making under pressure, and it is the sort of contribution that shifts how a squad values a veteran forward in the final weeks of a campaign.
De Rossi, Genoa's head coach, was quoted describing the goal as that of "a real striker" — a phrase that carries weight when applied to a player whose underlying numbers this season have been functional rather than decisive. Four goals from 28 matches is a modest return, but the timing and manner of this one give it disproportionate significance.
With five matches remaining and the gap to the relegation zone still requiring attention, Ekuban's overhead kick may prove to be the moment that defines his 2025-26 season.