Genoa and Palermo played out an enthralling 1-1 draw at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris tonight. It was Palermo coach Gian Piero Gasperini's return to the club he coached for four seasons between 2006-2010. In which he recieved a warm ovation from the Genoa fans.

Genoa coach Luigi Di Canio started Marco Borriello and the highly rated Ciro Immobile in attack in a 4-4-2 formation. Whilst Gasperini set his team up in a 3-4-3, with inform striker Fabrizio Miccoli up top supported by Josip Illicic and Luigi Giorgi. Michel Morganella and Santiago Garcia were employed as wing backs.

The condition of the pitch at the Marassi was far from ideal, many repatched areas making passing tricky. Daniel Tozser took it upon himself to take aim from distance as Genoa started the brighter. Bosko Jankovic's effort was far more dangerous worrying Palermo goalkeeper Samir Ujkani all the way.

It took Gasperini's side until the tenth minute to muster their first attempt through Edgar Barreto untroubling Sebastien Frey. However despite the rough playing surface the game was being played at a quick pace. And it was the visiting side who took the lead in the fourteenth minute. Garcia proceeded down the left wing to defeat Juraj Kucka and cut back a pass to Illicic who's whipped in cross was met by Giorgi. The Italian got goal side of Luca Antonelli to divert his header past a helpless Frey.

A few minutes after taking the lead, Palermo defender Ezequiel Munoz nearly leveled things up as the Argentine misjudged a Genoa long ball to send Ujkani frantically scrambling back to prevent the ball crossing his own line. The Albanian stopper berated his defender!

Having survived that minor scare, the away team looked tactically better in midfield. And began searching for a second goal. Garcia won the ball deep in his own half to set Giorgi away down the right, the goalscorer plays in Miccoli who's first time shot clears the crossbar. The Genoa attacking duo of Borriello and Immobile had a very quiet first twenty minutes. But Borriello looked to rectify that with a smart turn and strike forcing Ujkani to save low. From the resulting corner Felipe Seymour's volley from outside the box was gathered by the keeper.

Ciro Immobile got his first taste on goal, when a clever Genoa move in the box started by Borriello who flicked it into the path of Immobile. But his touch was too heavy and the ball ended up on the roof of the net. It was the Sicilians next who engineered a sweeping move, only for Illicic to curl a weak shot at Sebastien Frey when he had Garcia as an option to his left.

Genoa hit back with Antonelli darting to the byline, he see's Immobile in the centre but his low cross is poor and seized upon by Ujkani. Five minutes before the break and it was Immobile himself bearing down on Ujkani from the left, he selfishly decides to force the keeper into action. Rather than pick out the expectant Borriello in the middle. Di Carlo opts to enter Cristobal Jorquera on for Tozser.

Just as the Rossublu up the anti. Palermo break up the park through Illicic who slaloms through two defenders before firing inches wide of Frey's far post. Back up the other end Antonelli whips in a good cross to find Immobile who runs across Steve Von Bergen to angle his header goalwards. But again Ujkani denies him. Referee Dino Tommasi calls an end to an action packed first period.

Genoa set about an equaliser with Jorquera neatly holding up the ball in the box before setting up Borriello who's unbalanced when getting his shot away. Miccoli who's had little impact in the game, tries to beat Frey with a rather  audacious chip that's easily plucked out of the air by the Frenchman.         Jankovic then whips in a teasing freekick into the Palermo penalty area that somehow misses every scarlet & blue jersey.

The hoasts finally struck level in the fifty second minute from a corner. Morganella heads it away only as far as Jorquera who places the ball back into the danger zone where Marco Borriello laying in wait, Places his header beyond Ujkani into the far corner of the net. The roof of the Marassi lifted.

Gasperini alters the ship with first Miccoli being withdrawn and replaced by Abel Hernandez. Then the inspirational figure Illicic is taken off for fellow Slovenien Jasmin Kurtic. And it was the visitors who nearly regained the lead on the hour mark through Munoz from a corner. The Argentine first to attack the ball in was unlucky to see his header just creep wide of the near post.

Juan Manuel Vargas was introduced in place of Immobile for Genoa. Hernandez had his first glimpse of the target when he tried to bend an effort past Frey from outside the box. Jankovic on the right picked out substitute Vargas in acres of space with a tempting ball, but the Peruvian wastefully blasts it into row z. With the game fully stretched at this point, it was Garcia who did well to get his shot away in the box to force Frey into his best save of the match.

Gasperini made his final change withdrawning his third attacker Luigi Giorgi, off in place for midfielder Nicolas Bertolo. Into the last quarter of an hour and Palermo steadily defending deeper resisting the pressure of the home team. Jankovic made way for Emiliano Moretti. As Genoa spurred on by the impatient home crowd tried to carve out a winning goal. Borriello becoming increasingly isolated by the Palermo defence.

Into stoppages and Jorquera broke into the penalty area and went down! only to be booked for a rather pathetic dive. The home side seemingly out of ideas had to settle for a point when referee Tommasi called an end to proceedings. An exciting game with a draw being a fair result for both sides.

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