Scott McTominay & Rasmus Hojlund save Napoli's 'crazy season' again as ex-Man Utd stars score in last-gasp win at Genoa

Napoli fell behind early on at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris to a penalty from Ruslan Malinovskyi, but managed to level through Hojlund after 20 minutes. Moments later, McTomonay fired the visitors into the lead.

At half-time, McTominay had to be replaced by January signing Giovane due to injury. The second half was a testing one for Conte's men, with Lorenzo Colombo equalising just after the hour mark before Napoli were reduced to ten men after Juan Jesus was sent off.

But there was still time for a grandstand finish in the reigning champions' favour. After a lengthy VAR check, Napoli were awarded a penalty deep into added time, and United loanee Hojlund stepped up to convert and snatch back the win.

Napoli's season has been riddled by injuries, with Conte continually naming shorthanded substitutes benches. The likes of Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne have spent lengthy spells on the sidelines, while McTominay has soldiered on through the pain.

At his post-match press conference, Conte said of McTominay's injury: "It's a tendon problem he's had since the start of the year. It hurts him every now and then, it doesn't stop him from playing, but he plays at reduced speeds. He would have continued, but I'd rather have a player who is 100 percent fit than risk a key player like him.

"It's a crazy season. If we're all intelligent people  we'll have to think about the composition of the squad, the transfer market we've done, and many other things, like the fact that we can't draw from the youth system. Long-term injuries like those of De Bruyne and Lukaku have also come into play, as have [Andre-Frank Zambo] Anguissa and [Billy] Gilmour, who underwent surgery but continues to have problems."

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Hojlund told DAZN that he was 'very lucky' to see his penalty roll under the arm of Genoa goalkeeper Justin Bijlow, while he heaped praise on team-mate Antonio Vergara for winning the spot kick in the first place.

The Dane said: "Obviously, we worked to the last minute, it was nerve-wracking and a big responsibility. I was glad to see it go in, but I probably need to train a bit more on penalties.

"I was very lucky, but in the end we got the goal and I'm happy that we won with one man less. We fought to the last second. Vergara won the penalty, he's been amazing in the last month and a half and he's getting more and more confident."

Napoli are back in action on Tuesday when they take on Cesc Fabregas' Como in the Coppa Italia. Conte has confirmed McTominay will be assessed prior to that fixture, while he joked about the possibility of coming out of retirement to play in midfield with his team down to the bare bones.

"I'll be playing soon!" Conte laughed. "I can't play because there are rules, otherwise I could have helped."