Palermo ended their nine-round losing streak with an unbelievable comeback from 3-1 down to win 4-3 at Genoa.

The Grifone were feeling confident after beating Fiorentina 1-0 in Thursday’s rescheduled Week 3 match, while Leonardo Pavoletti was the only absentee. On the other hand, the Sicilians were on a run of nine consecutive Serie A defeats, a club record. Palermo had never beaten Genoa at Marassi in the top flight with just nine draws and as many defeats here.

It took just four minutes to break the porous Rosanero defence, as Giovanni Simeone sprung the offside trap and drilled low under an on-rushing Josip Posavec at the near post.

Luca Rigoni was offside when his glancing header thumped the upright, so the quasi-own-goal on the rebound didn’t count. Palermo tried to fight back, Robin Quaison drilling wide and Bruno Henrique penalty appeals when he just seemed to lose his balance running past Isaac Cofie.

Miguel Veloso went off with a left leg injury, making way for Olivier Ntcham. Sinisa Andelkovic’s towering header from a corner skimmed the bar and at the other end Ezequiel Munoz saw his effort smothered.

Palermo equalised just before the break with a moment of sublime individual skill, as he gathered from Nestorovski and dribbled past four Genoa players to place a delicate low finish past Mattia Perin.

The Rosanero should’ve gone 2-1 up after the restart when Ezequiel Munoz gave away possession and Bruno Henrique rolled across, but Nestorovski ballooned over the bar from eight yards.

Moments later, Simeone’s header skimmed the bar from a Lazovic cross and Posavec plucked the Lazovic free kick out of the air.

Palermo were pushing forward and playing better than Genoa, but Simeone struck again to complete his brace with a remarkable twisting backwards header from the penalty spot that looped into the far bottom corner.

Eugenio Corini’s men continued to push, but Ninkovic forced a save out of Posavec one-on-one and moments later his glancing header extended the Genoa cushion on a Simeone cross from the left.

That situation did not last long, as Alessandro Diamanti came off the bench and immediately curled a free kick on to the head of Edoardo Goldaniga for 3-2.

Cholito threatened a hat-trick, sliding in unable to meet the Lazovic cross-shot at the back post, and Ninkovic’s attempt was palmed out from under the bar.

However, at the 88th minute Sinisa Andelkovic knocked down a corner for Andrea Rispoli to tap in from a couple of yards and complete the comeback to 3-3. Genoa were furious, as Rispoli may well have been marginally offside.

Genoa pushed forward to find a late winner, but moments later Palermo turned it around completely with a classic counter. Diamanti robbed Ntcham and set up Aleksandar Trajkovski for an angled drive from the edge of the box, putting them 4-3 up.

It still wasn’t over, as Goran Pandev’s acrobatic attempt skimmed the far top corner Mattia Perin was sent off for pushing Nestorovski over when the striker tried to delay a free kick. As the substitutions had been completed, Edenilson had to go in goal.