Ehizibue opened the scoring in the 12th minute, with his effort taking a deflection off Andrea Cambiaso and wrong-footing Juventus goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. Baldanzi doubled the advantage in the 28th minute, capitalising on a loose ball in the penalty area to leave the visitors facing an uphill task..
Juventus improved after the break but could not find a way past Genoa goalkeeper Justin Bijlow. Teun Koopmeiners struck the crossbar in stoppage time, while Jhon Lucumí was denied by a fine save before Nick Woltemade’s follow-up was blocked.
Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti began his post-match assessment by apologising to the club’s supporters.
“The first thing to do is apologise to the fans. After that, I am open to talking about anything concerning the team, our behaviour and our football. But if we are talking about the difficulties we had tonight, it is quite simple.
“We were not at the required level physically or in the duels. We lost the intensity needed to turn situations into proper attacking moves. If we cannot compete for balls played forward, and every ball played behind us requires the whole team to recover it, then things become difficult,” Spalletti said.
The defeat continued a difficult spell for Juventus, who had also struggled to impose themselves in recent matches. Spalletti insisted that changes were necessary, but warned against abandoning all the work already done.
“We have to do something differently. There are reasons that have brought us to this point, and now we have to remain clear-headed and analyse things properly without throwing everything away, even though many things went badly. There are things we need to take forward and work on better.”
Asked whether Genoa had understood the physical demands of the game better than his own team, Spalletti acknowledged that the problem had become a recurring one.
“The issue of the fight and the physical contest has come up again. We understood it for three-quarters of the match at times, and sometimes we did not last Sunday. Tonight, we did not reach the level the match required.
“The players are involved and willing to talk with us. We have to do something different. It is true that we have lost three matches, but these issues were there even before we lost the first one. We need to think clearly and analyse things deeply to find a different solution.”
Genoa coach Daniele De Rossi, meanwhile, praised his players for maintaining their commitment and building on recent performances.
“I don’t know if this was our best performance since I arrived. We have had other good displays, perhaps against opponents who presented an even greater challenge. This was a good match and a continuation of what we have done in previous games.
“At half-time, I said our restarts had not been good enough, but we showed character in the second half. I have nothing to criticise the players for. I can only congratulate them.”
De Rossi singled out Vitinha for his contribution, while also praising the impact of his substitutes.
“We wanted to hurt Juventus more towards the end of the first half and in the second. Sometimes things work better, and sometimes you have to wait for players to regain their condition. The rotation worked perfectly because of those who came on.
“Vitinha saved me last year. Since July 1, he has trained with a smile, and you can see it on the pitch: heart, intelligence and runs into space.”
The victory gave Genoa another valuable result, while Juventus were left with serious questions about their intensity and ability to respond under pressure.