Højlund rescues Napoli with dramatic 3-2 win over Genoa in Serie A

GENOA, Italy (AP) — Rasmus Højlund scored a last-gasp penalty as 10-man Napoli won 3-2 at Genoa in Serie A on Saturday, keeping pressure on the top two clubs from Milan.

Højlund was fortunate Genoa goalkeeper Justin Bijlow was unable to keep out his low shot, despite getting his arm to the ball in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

The spot kick was awarded after Maxwel Cornet – who had just gone on as a substitute – was adjudged after a VAR check to have kicked Antonio Vergara’s foot after the Napoli midfielder dropped dramatically to the floor.

Højlund’s second goal of the game moved Napoli one point behind AC Milan and six behind Inter Milan. They both have a game in hand.

“We showed that we’re a team that never gives up, even in difficult situations, in emergencies, and despite being outnumbered, we had the determination to win. I’m proud of my players’ attitude, and I thank them and congratulate them because the victory was deserved,” Napoli coach Antonio Conte said.

His team got off to a bad start with goalkeeper Alex Meret bringing down Vitinha after a botched back pass from Alessandro Buongiorno just seconds into the game. A VAR check confirmed the penalty and Ruslan Malinovskyi duly scored from the spot in the second minute.

Scott McTominay was involved in both goals as Napoli replied with a quickfire double. Bijlow saved his first effort in the 20th but Højlund tucked away the rebound, and McTominay let fly from around 20 meters to make it 2-1 a minute later.

However, McTominay had to go off at the break with what looked like a muscular injury, and another mistake from Buongiorno allowed Lorenzo Colombo to score in the 57th for Genoa.

“Scott has a gluteal problem that he’s had since the season started. It gets inflamed sometimes," Conte said of McTominay. "He would have liked to continue, but I preferred not for him to take any risks because he’s a key player for us.”

Napoli center back Juan Jesus was sent off in the 76th after receiving a second yellow card for pulling back Genoa substitute Caleb Ekuban.

Genoa pushed for a winner but it was the visitors who celebrated after a dramatic finale.

"The penalty wasn’t perfect. I was also lucky, but what matters is that we won,” Højlund said.

Fiorentina was on course to escape the relegation zone until Torino defender Guillermo Maripán scored deep in stoppage time for a 2-2 draw in the late game.

Fiorentina had come from behind after Cesare Casadei’s early goal for the visitors, with Manor Solomon and Moise Kean both scoring early in the second half.

A 2-1 win would have lifted Fiorentina out of the relegation zone, but Maripán equalized in the 94th minute with a header inside the far post after a free kick for what seemed like a defeat for the home team.

Fiorentina had lost its previous three games, including to Como in the Italian Cup.

Earlier, Juventus announced star player Kenan Yildiz's contract extension through June 2030.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Genoa's Ruslan Malinovskyi celebrates after scoring a goal during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Napoli, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, Genoa, Italy. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's goalkeeper Alex Meret catches the ball during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Napoli, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, Genoa, Italy. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Scott McTominay celebrates after scoring a goal during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Napoli, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, Genoa, Italy. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

Genoa's Lorenzo Colombo celebrates after scoring a goal during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Napoli, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Genoa, Italy. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

Genoa's Vitinha fights for the ball with Napoli's Amir Rrahmani, right, during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Napoli, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Genoa, Italy. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

CAIRO (AP) — Palestinians on both sides of the crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which opened last week for the first time since 2024, were making their way to the border on Sunday in hopes of crossing, one of the main requirements for the U.S.-backed ceasefire. The opening comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to travel to Washington this week, though the major subject of discussion will be Iran, his office said.

The Rafah Crossing opened to a few Palestinians in each direction last week, after Israel retrieved the body of the last hostage held in Gaza and several American officials visited Israel to press for the opening. Over the first four days of the crossing's opening, just 36 Palestinians requiring medical care were allowed to leave for Egypt, plus 62 companions, according to United Nations data.

Palestinian officials say nearly 20,000 people in Gaza are seeking to leave for medical care that they say is not available in the war-shattered territory. The few who have succeeded in crossing described delays and allegations of mistreatment by Israeli forces and other groups involved in the crossing, including and an Israeli-backed Palestinian armed group, Abu Shabab.

A group of Palestinian patients and wounded gathered Sunday morning in the courtyard of a Red Crescent hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis, before making their way to the Rafah crossing with Egypt for treatment abroad, family members told The Associated Press.

Amjad Abu Jedian, who was injured in the war, was scheduled to leave Gaza for medical treatment on the first day of the crossing’s reopening, but only five patients were allowed to travel that day, his mother, Raja Abu Jedian, said. Abu Jedian was shot by an Israeli sniper while he was building traditional bathrooms in the central Bureij refugee camp in July 2024, she said.

On Saturday, his family received a call from the World Health Organization notifying them that he is included in the group that will travel on Sunday, she said.

“We want them to take care of the patients (during their evacuation),” she said. “We want the Israeli military not to burden them.”

The Israeli defense branch that oversees the operation of the crossing did not immediately confirm the opening.

A group of Palestinians also arrived Sunday morning at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing border to return to the Gaza Strip, Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News satellite television reported.

Palestinians who returned to Gaza in the first few days of the crossing's operation described hours of delays and invasive searches by Israeli authorities and an Israeli-backed Palestinian armed group, Abu Shabab. A European Union mission and Palestinian officials run the border crossing, and Israel has its screening facility some distance away.

The crossing was reopened on Feb. 2 as part of a fragile ceasefire deal that stopped the war between Israel and Hamas. Amid confusion around the reopening, the Rafah crossing was closed Friday and Saturday.

The Rafah crossing, an essential lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza, was the only crossing not controlled by Israel prior to the war. Israel seized the Palestinian side of Rafah in May 2024, though traffic through the crossing was heavily restricted even before that.

Restrictions negotiated by Israeli, Egyptian, Palestinian and international officials meant that only 50 people would be allowed to return to Gaza each day and 50 medical patients — along with two companions for each — would be allowed to leave, but far fewer people than expected have crossed in both directions.

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Ayada Al-Sheikh is welcomed by his sister, Nisreen, upon his arrival in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip after returning to Gaza following the long-awaited reopening of the Rafah border crossing, early Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians patients and their relatives gather to board a bus in Khan Younis before they head to the Rafah crossing, leaving the Gaza Strip for medical treatment abroad, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians carry the belongings of relatives arriving in Gaza from Egypt following the long-awaited reopening of the Rafah border crossing, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, early Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)