Genoa maintained their 100% home record thanks to a narrow win over Cagliari on Wednesday.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos put the home side ahead in the 25th minute and Thiago Motta made it two in the 55th.
But Gian Piero Gasperini's side were made to sweat when Paolo Bianco pulled a goal back in the 66th minute before a red card for Cagliari's Michele Fini in the 76th minute all but ended their hopes of snatching an equaliser.
The win - Genoa's fifth in five games at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris - lifts the Rossoblu up to seventh place, just four points behind leaders Udinese.
A storm brought a heavy downpour to the Ligurian city prior to kick-off, but the clouds dispersed as the players emerged.
The wet surface, though, may have been the reason why Diego Milito was unable to free the ball from within his legs in time to get a shot away after robbing Diego Lopez just outside the penalty area in the fifth minute.
Lopez and Milito were to become the key figures of the first half, with the Cagliari defender coming closest for the visitors with a shot just wide in the 10th minute.
The pair then clashed after Milito took exception to two heavy aerial challenges from the defender and both had to be separated by their team-mates.
Both were shown a yellow card.
Cagliari came close to opening the scoring in the 19th minute when Giuseppe Biava headed a curling corner off his own goal-line.
And from the subsequent corner, former Sampdoria midfielder Andrea Parola struck a volley just over the crossbar.
Andrea Gasbarroni had an excellent chance to put Genoa ahead minutes later when he was found by Giuseppe Sculli in a central position just inside the penalty area, but side-footed his low shot wide.
The home side did go ahead in the 25th minute, with the conditions playing their part.
Giandomenico Mesto's pass into the penalty area seemed tame enough, but it skidded off the surface through a pack of Cagliari players to reach Papastathopoulos, who had a simple finish from close range.
Genoa enjoyed a spell of pressure, with Domenico Criscito and Sculli both testing Federico Marchetti in the Cagliari goal with shots from distance before half-time.
The Rossoblu doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half with Thiago scoring his first goal for the club.
Milito had just wasted a good chance inside the penalty area but he made amends to set up Thiago with a good reverse ball which the Brazilian took in his stride towards the goal line before lifting his shot over Marchetti and into the far corner.
The Sardinians reacted well with Fini's free-kick from 25 yards striking the inside of Rubinho's post, while Jeda shot just wide from inside the area.
Their persistence was rewarded in the 66th minute when Bianco stole in around the back to tuck Fini's free-kick inside the post.
The nerves of the Genoa fans were tested as Cagliari camped inside their half searching for an equalizer.
But the visitors' hopes were dashed in the 76th minute when Fini picked up his second yellow card in the space of four minutes to head for an early bath and leave his side to accept their fate.
