The Stadio Olimpico was eerily empty due to a boycott from home fans and travel restrictions for away supporters, and that was reflected in a quiet start to proceedings on the pitch.
Toma Basic scuffed the game’s first shot horribly wide, before Morten Frendrup was teed up invitingly but saw a tame strike routinely gathered by Ivan Provedel.
There were some more attractive passages of play as the quarter-hour mark came and went, although Danilo Cataldi’s attempt from range was blocked by Leo Ostigard, and Oliver Provstgaard denied Lorenzo Colombo at the other end.
Mario Gila narrowly avoided being dispossessed by Vitinha shortly before Il Grifone’s striker saw a shot blocked for a corner that culminated in Johan Vasquez heading behind.
Gila then had a heated exchange with Vitinha, and the Portuguese frontman almost provided a spark as he dived to meet Ruslan Malinovskyi’s dinked pass, producing a header that Provedel rushed out to save.
Malinovskyi and Colombo had a shot apiece blocked moments later, before Adam Marusic headed over from debutant Daniel Maldini’s cross and Brooke Norton-Cuffy blocked Bašić’s venomous attempt.
Lazio emerged from the restart with added intent and eventually got their chance when Isaksen’s cross hit Aaron Martin’s hand, conceding a penalty that Pedro clinically converted to put his side ahead in the 56th minute.
Just six minutes later, Isaksen got the better of Martin to reach Provedel’s long ball and provide a cutback for Taylor to score his first goal for the Biancocelesti.
Genoa had a penalty of their own shortly after due to Gila handling Malinovskyi’s strike, and the midfielder took the responsibility to emphatically smash his spot kick past Provedel.
Just eight minutes later, Malinovskyi hit the woodwork directly from a corner, and the ball took a touch off Provedel on its way into Vitinha’s path, and he finished for a Genoa equaliser.
However, Maurizio Sarri’s side was awarded a penalty in the final moments when Ostigard handled Petar Ratkov’s header.
There was an altercation between Cataldi and Maxwel Cornet before the spot kick was taken, but the Lazio captain stayed cool to find the bottom corner and secure just the second win from the Biancocelesti’s last eight matches. The penalty also inflicted Genoa’s first defeat of 2026.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Danilo Cataldi (Lazio)
