Bologna defeated Genoa by the odd goal in five at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara this afternoon.

The hosts controlled the opening 45 minutes and managed to make the most of their domination with two goals before the break.

Daniele Portanova broke the deadlock in the 24th minute when he headed in a cross from former West Ham United striker Alessandro Diamanti.

Their lead was doubled in the 37th minute courtesy of midfielder Gaston Ramirez, who sent the ball into the roof of the net from 12 yards out.

Genoa posed more of an attacking threat after the restart and brought themselves to within a goal of their hosts when Rodrigo Palacio turned in a cross from Marco Rossi with 59 minutes on the clock.

However, the two-goal winning margin was restored just eight minutes later when Gyorgy Garics converted another cross from Diamanti at the first time of asking.

The away side responded with a second goal 13 minutes from time when Cristobal Jorquera latched onto a pass from Palacio before firing in from a narrow angle.

Despite dominating the closing stages, Genoa were unable to find an equalising goal as Bologna claimed all three points.