Napoli 2, Genoa 1: Player ratings and Man of the Match poll

Today was a struggle for Napoli, both in defense and in executing in the final third. They managed to snag the win anyways, seeing of Genoa in a storm of controversy and poor play for both sides. What Napoli player was the best on the day, though?

Starters

Rafael Cabral - 8 - Rafael had another very good performance in goal, though his helplessness on Genoa's goal is bringing out the detractors again. He actually made the right decision on the play, cheating to his right to cover an unmarked run from a Genoa attacker, but because his defense didn't actually defend, he was hung out to dry when Falque shot for the far post. Otherwise, he made a couple tough saves and did very well on balls in the air, though he had one clearance of note that was bizarrely poor.

Christian Maggio - 5 - Was beaten easily several times by both Perotti and Antonelli, and added very little to the attack. Maggio's been off-form for awhile now, hopefully he can find whatever he's missing again.

Raul Albiol - 4- What. The. Heck. Was. That. After a much-improved performance against Lazio, Albiol put in an absolute stinker today. His positioning was awful, he was terrible in the air, and he kept backing off attackers for no reason, something that directly allowed Genoa's goal.

Kalidou Koulibaly - 5 - Not a great day from the Frenchman. His positioning was bad and his decision-making wasn't at its best, though to be fair he was having to cover an abysmal performance by his partner.

Ivan Strinic - 7 - Dominated in the first half, including doing a lot of good driving Napoli's attack. Ran one counter in particular that would have lead to a Napoli goal if not for idiotic decision making by De Guzman. Wore down quickly in the second half, which isn't a surprise considering his lack of match fitness and playing 120 minutes four days ago.

David Lopez - 8 - A fantastic performance from Lopez. A rock in defense and had arguably his best match supporting the attack. Took an absolute beating from Genoa's midfield, but kept coming back for more.

Gokhan Inler - 3 - A complete liability in all phases of the game today. Inler's done a lot of good for Napoli over the past few years, but maybe it's time to move on. He's been bad for a long time now.

Jose Callejon - 7 - No goals or assists, but was very good on the day anyways. A constant menace in attack, worked well in defense, and even provided some decent set piece service.

Marek Hamsik - 6 - Started the match off very well, generating a number of chances in the first half left wanting thanks to poor finishing. Wore down badly as the match progressed after playing two hours against Udinese, but was left on the pitch anyways because Rafa doesn't use subs logically.

Jonathan De Guzman - 4 - Seemed to make the wrong decision every time he had the ball. Should have had a brace of his own if not for a horrifyingly poor decision one-on-one with the goalkeeper and hilariously poor finishing on his second chance.

Gonzalo Higuain - 8 - Scored a brace, won a penalty (kinda-sorta-not-really), arguably should have gotten two Genoa players sent off for denial of goalscoring chance calls that somehow were called against him. Pretty nice day all in all.

Substitutes

Manolo Gabbiadini - 6 - Struggled a little with his passing, but still did more to help the attack in 24 minutes than De Guzman did in 70. Also put in a good defensive shift, which is pretty neat.

Miguel Britos - n/a - Wasn't on the pitch for very long, and was only involved in play a couple of times. Didn't make any mistakes though!

Duvan Zapata - n/a - Also not on the pitch long enough to have much of an impact, though he did have a pretty impressive bit of hold-up play right before the final whistle.

Who was your man of the match for Napoli today against Genoa? Vote in the poll below and discuss the performances in the comments!