The English Premier League side officially recorded a convincing friendly victory, while Genoa insists it was exclusively a joint training session divided into four periods.
The football world is buzzing these days about an unusual result from England, but the two sides have diametrically opposed interpretations of what happened on the pitch. Bournemouth hosted Genoa and celebrated a 10-1 victory, but the Italian club refuses to acknowledge that a match was even played. According to Football Italia, as reported by Telegram.hr and Index.hr, Genoa described the encounter as a "joint training session at Bournemouth's training center."
The hosts officially recorded the fixture as a friendly match and a convincing win. The main protagonist was former Roma player Justin Kluivert, who scored three goals. Alex Scott and Enes Ünal each added two, while Daniel Jebbison, David Brooks, and Malcom Dacosta Gonzalez each found the net once. The only goal for the Italian side came from Mikael Ellertsson.
The Italian club has a completely different story. In their view, it was exclusively a joint training session, not a real match. As an argument, they cite the format of the encounter: it was divided into four periods of 30 minutes each. The scores by period were 1-0 and 3-1 for Bournemouth in the first two, and twice 3-0 for the English side in the third and fourth periods. Supporting their claim is the fact that no report of the event was published on Genoa's official club website.
In this unusual encounter, newly signed defender Mario Mitaj made his debut for Genoa, but he conceded a penalty within the opening minutes. Coach Daniele De Rossi gave playing time in the final hour to a lineup composed almost entirely of young players from the youth academy. The match was played behind closed doors, and Genoa had completed a double training session at St. George's Park just a day earlier.
Genoa arrived in England on Saturday and shortly after their arrival defeated Leicester City 1-0 with a goal from Lorenzo Colombo. After the match, or training session, in Bournemouth, the Italian side returns to Liguria. Bournemouth, meanwhile, continues preparations for the new season, and this result, no matter how it's labeled, will certainly attract the attention of the football public.
