The hosts made a strong start to the match and they took the lead in the seventh minute when Mattia Perin parried Jose Callejon's strike into the path of Gonzalo Higuain, who headed the rebound in from close range.

Nicolas Burdisso of Genoa and Gonzalo Higuain of Napoli in action during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Genoa CFC at Stadio San Paolo on January 26, 2015 © Getty Images

David Lopez threatened a second for Napoli with a swerving drive from range that was held by the keeper.

Genoa were creating chances of their own and Edenilson forced Rafael to touch his low effort wide of the post.

Napoli then thought that they should have been awarded a penalty when Ivan Strinic's cross appeared to strike the arm of Facundo Roncaglia, but nothing was given by the referee.

The pace of the game was unrelenting and the hosts came close again when Marek Hamsik was picked out inside the box by Higuain, before blazing wildly over the bar.

Moments later Jonathan de Guzman was guilty of missing another huge chance for Napoli when he was played clean through on goal, before lifting the ball over the bar.

They were almost made to pay as Luca Antonelli latched on to Diego Perotti's clever flick and drilled a strike into the arms of the keeper.

Napoli held on to their lead going into the break and they almost scored again minutes into the second half as De Guzman took the ball past the keeper, but he saw his effort blocked on the line by Nicolas Burdisso.

Iago Falque of Genoa celebrates after scoring the goal 1-1 during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Genoa CFC at Stadio San Paolo on January 26, 2015 © Getty Images

Once again Genoa showed their attacking intent and Andrea Bertolacci put a strike just wide of the post, with Rafael left stranded.

The visitors finally got the goal that they deserved in the 56th minute when Iago Falque worked some space on the edge of the box, before drilling a low strike into the bottom corner.

On the hour-mark Callejon came within inches of restoring Napoli's lead, but his deflected strike came crashing off the top of the bar.

Callejon was involved again moments later when he latched on to a ball over the defence before smashing in a strike that was palmed away by Perin.

With the game heading towards the last 15 minutes, Napoli were awarded a penalty following a push from Juraj Kucka on Higuain.

Higuain took the spot kick and he made no mistake with an assured finish into the corner past Perin.

The visitors pushed hard for a late response, but they were unable to find a second goal as Napoli held on to boost their Champions League hopes.