Genoa’s hopes of earning just a second home win in 12 were dealt a huge blow just three minutes in, when Atalanta cleared a corner out to Brooke Norton-Cuffy, but his miscontrol allowed Daniel Maldini to steal possession and race through on goal. Maldini attempted to take the ball around Nicola Leali, but the home goalkeeper brought him down outside the box, and was shown a straight red card.
Charles De Ketelaere was first to test substitute goalkeeper Daniele Sommariva after 10 minutes, but the home side didn’t simply sit back, forcing Marco Carnesecchi to bat away a Johan Vasquez header.
Yunus Musah sent a strike sailing over the bar for the visitors just past the half-hour mark, but they were not looking like a side with a man advantage, as Il Grifone went up the other end and again worked Carnesecchi with a Vitinha shot following good work from Caleb Ekuban.
However, La Dea were ending the half the stronger, and only a vital Vásquez interception prevented De Ketelaere from being able to tap into an empty net from two yards out.
Keen to atone for his error, Norton-Cuffy went on a marauding run down the right wing early in the second half, and his low cross was met at the far post by Vitinha, but he could only hit the base of the woodwork with the goal gaping.
Atalanta were soon back on top, but neither Éderson nor Maldini could profit from good positions, and by the 72nd minute, the visitors had 72% possession, but still they had nothing to show for it following a wayward Gianluca Scamacca header and De Ketelaere drilling a strike a whisker wide.
The 10 men may have had little of the ball, but they continued to look dangerous on their rare ventures forward. In the final 15 minutes, the Atalanta defence left Lorenzo Colombo completely unmarked at a corner, and again Carnesecchi spared their blushes.
Nicola Zalewski, Lazar Samardzic and Nikola Krstovic all failed to break Genoa hearts in the dying minutes, before Isak Hien did just that with a simple header from a corner in the 94th minute, as Sommariva came off his line but failed to claim the ball. It’s the sixth Serie A home match this season in which Genoa have failed to score, while it’s a first away win in six for Atalanta.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta)