Genoa beat Fiorentina 2-1 at the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris, and the result was effectively decided before the half-hour mark — two goals in eight first-half minutes, both involving Milutin Osmajić, gave Daniele De Rossi's side a cushion that Paolo Vanoli's Fiorentina never seriously threatened to overturn.
The opener arrived at the 7th minute. Genoa midfielder Mikael Ellertsson provided the assist, and Osmajić converted to put the hosts ahead. Fiorentina's response was disciplined enough on paper — Luca Ranieri was booked at 15' — but the caution came in the same minute that Genoa doubled their lead. Junior Messias, the Genoa midfielder, finished with Osmajić turning provider, and the score was 2-0 before Fiorentina had time to process the first concession. Two goals, eight minutes, and the match had a shape that would not fundamentally change. A second yellow card followed for Christ Inao Oulaï at 21', and Vanoli was forced into a double substitution at half-time — Alieu Njie on for Oulaï, Viery on for Ranieri — before the second half had even begun. The disruption to Fiorentina's structure was real, and the game's decisive damage had already been done.
Osmajić is the natural focus here. The Genoa forward scored the opener and assisted the second, meaning both goals in a 2-0 first-half lead passed through him directly. He was not substituted — Messias departed at 57' for Vítinha, while Ellertsson was withdrawn at 82' — and Osmajić's involvement in each of Genoa's two legitimate goals makes him the clearest individual explanation for the result.
Fiorentina's consolation came at 73', but it arrived as an own goal by Genoa defender Johan Vásquez rather than through anything Vanoli's side manufactured cleanly. The goal gave the visitors a lifeline, and Genoa's final quarter-hour was fractious — Vásquez himself was booked at 84', followed by Samuel Wiafe at 85' and Vítinha in added time, with Stefano Sabelli collecting a fifth yellow for the hosts at 90+5'. Five yellows for Genoa across the ninety minutes, three for Fiorentina: the match ended in a state of accumulated tension that the scoreline alone does not capture. Fiorentina had the personnel to threaten — Dodô came on at 80', Mateo Pellegrino at 65' — but the substitutions could not compensate for the structural damage inflicted by the early double booking and the two-goal deficit they had been chasing since the 15th minute.
The context for Genoa makes this result more significant than a single three-point return. Coming into the match, De Rossi's side had taken one point from their four preceding Serie A fixtures — no wins, one draw, two defeats in the last three league games. Across their last three matches in all competitions including today, they now show two wins and one defeat. That is a different team from the one that conceded four at home to Como in early September. Fiorentina, for their part, had shown some cross-competition resilience — two wins and a draw in their last three before today — but their Serie A record remained fragile, and this defeat confirms it: one win, one draw, and two defeats in their last four league outings including this one.
Genoa's first-half blitz, built on Osmajić's direct involvement in both goals, was enough to win a match that two struggling sides needed badly — and only one of them got.