Italian Serie A club Genoa suffered a 10-1 friendly defeat against Bournemouth at the Bournemouth Performance Center. The match was played behind closed doors in four 30-minute periods to test as many players as possible.
Bournemouth fielded 30 players while Genoa manager Daniele De Rossi used 23. Genoa played roughly their starting lineup for the first 60 minutes but trailed 4-1 after conceding two penalties, with Mikael Egill Ellertsson scoring Genoa's only goal.
Bournemouth dominated the second 60 minutes as Genoa fielded primarily youth players. The defeat came four days after Genoa beat Leicester 1-0 in a friendly.
Media reaction and club response
La Gazzetta dello Sport called the result an embarrassment in an article titled Genoa, what an embarrassment! Rossoblu swept off the board by Bournemouth 10-1 in friendly. The Italian newspaper questioned choosing an opponent at a much higher stage of preparation and quality after only three weeks of training.
Genoa stated on their official website that the match aimed to avoid injuries, build fitness, work on tactics, and refine details. The club added that taking a lesson to turn into something positive and return stronger was normal and not the end of the world.
Bournemouth finished sixth in the Premier League last season and were at a different stage of pre-season preparation. Serie A opens its 2026/27 season on August 22 at 6:30 p.m. with Udinese facing Como and Inter playing Monza.
