Napoli made a winning start to the new Serie A season under Massimiliano Allegri, beating Genoa 2-0 in a game that was transformed by the introduction of Kevin De Bruyne after the break.

The visitors had an early warning in the seventh minute when Alex Meret made a risky pass that was intercepted. Vitinha had the chance to punish the mistake, but his effort flew wide of the goal.

Napoli struggled to find a breakthrough for much of the match, with Genoa proving difficult to break down. The momentum changed, however, when De Bruyne came off the bench.

The Belgium international made an immediate impact. Following a clever backheel from Antonio Vergara, De Bruyne battled his way past Johan Vasquez before firing Napoli into the lead. The goal sparked furious protests from the home side, who questioned the circumstances surrounding the challenge.

There was no stopping the Belgian after that. Moments later, De Bruyne turned provider, delivering a dangerous low cross towards Antonio Vergara. The midfielder produced an impressive finish from a difficult angle to make it 2-0 and put the result beyond doubt.

2026-27, Italy - Serie A

Genoa - Napoli 0:2 (0:0)
Goals: De Bruyne, 82 (0:1); Vergara A., 87 (0:2)

Genoa: Bijlow; Ostigard (Otoa, 66); Norton-Cuffy; Vasquez J-n; Marcandalli; Amorim (Sow Dj., 75); Frendrup; Ellertsson; Baldanzi (Junior Messias, 66); Vitinha; Colombo (Meichtry, 74)
Substitution: Otoa (from 66); Junior Messias (from 66); Meichtry (from 74); Sow Dj. (from 75)
Bench: Sommariva; Stolz; Mitaj; Martín A.; Sabelli; Puczka; Doucoure M.
Yellow Cards: Ostigard 85; Sabelli 85; Baldanzi 85

Napoli: Meret; Rrahmani Am.; Marín Ra. (Olivera M., 81); Di Lorenzo; McTominay; Politano (Vergara A., 67); Spinazzola; Lobotka; Zambo Anguissa André-Frank (De Bruyne, 67); Santos A. (Lang N., 66); Höjlund R. (Lucca L., 78)
Substitution: Lang N. (from 66); De Bruyne (from 67); Vergara A. (from 67); Lucca L. (from 78); Olivera M. (from 81)
Bench: Contini N.; Milinkovic-Savic V.; Beukema; Gilmour B.; Favasuli; Neres; Giovane
Yellow Cards: Politano 54