Magic Spray, Major Frustration: Conte Faces a Fiery Genoa-Napoli Showdown
8 February 2026
Key Moments
The Genoa vs Napoli clash on Saturday, in the 24th round of Serie A, delivered a string of dramatic moments, especially in the first half, ending with a choppy score and a cascade of injuries that irked Napoli's coach Antonio Conte.
The early minutes were tense as VAR awarded Genoa a penalty, converted by Ruslan Malinovskyi in the third minute.
Napoli responded with Rasmus Höjlund equalizing in the 20th minute, then the most bizarre moment of the half: McTominay suffered an injury, asked Höjlund to fetch the 'magical spray' from the medical staff, stayed on, and promptly scored a stunning goal before signaling to the bench to come off.
Conte's anger boiled over as reports say he turned to the touchline and joked, 'Looks like I’ll have to play (myself) after a minute,' given the mounting injuries.
Napoli remained firmly in third, lifting their points tally to 49, as leaders Inter and second-placed Milan prepared to play in the same round.
The match featured constant momentum and a glimpse of what's to come in the title race.
Punchlines: 1) If tactics were as sharp as that spray, Napoli would never miss a win. 2) Conte’s clipboard has more feelings than some managers.
