Torino secured a much-needed victory, breaking a streak of three consecutive 3-2 losses in Serie A, with a 1-0 win at home against Como on Friday evening. The match was decided by a scrappy goal from substitute Alieu Njie in the second half.
Torino came into the match with concerns after their recent form, having lost their last three league games. The team had initially topped the league table after their first five matches, but the recent losses had raised alarm bells.
In contrast, Como had experienced a turnaround in their season. After struggling early on, they managed to stabilize their performance with two consecutive 3-2 wins, along with a draw and a loss in their previous four matches.
The game took a turn for Como just after the half-hour mark when former Barcelona midfielder Sergi Roberto was forced to leave the pitch due to injury.
Midway through the second half, Torino’s Che Adams thought he had given his team the lead, but his goal was ruled out for offside. This was the closest either team came to scoring in the first half.
As the second half progressed, Torino began to apply more pressure, forcing crucial saves from Como’s goalkeeper Emil Audero and defender Edoardo Goldaniga. Como’s Nico Paz and Gabriel Strefezza also had promising chances around the 65-minute mark, but neither could find the back of the net.
The breakthrough finally came in the 74th minute in somewhat chaotic fashion. Njie contested a header near the edge of Como’s penalty area, fought for the follow-up, and capitalized on a misdirected header from Matthias Braunöder. After taking a heavy touch around Audero, he managed to slot the ball into the net.
With this victory, Torino climbed back to sixth place in Serie A with 14 points, while Como remained in 14th place with nine points. Both teams will be watching closely as results from the remaining Serie A fixtures this weekend could still affect their standings.
Goals: Njie ’75 (T)
Torino (3-5-2): Milinkovic-Savic; Coco, Maripan, Walukiewicz (46′ Vojvoda); Lazaro, Vlasic, Linetty (64′ Gineitis), Ricci, Masina; Adams, Sanabria (64′ Njie)
Como (4-2-3-1): Audero; Goldaniga, Kempf, Dossena, Moreno (83′ Jasim); Perrone, Sergi Roberto (37′ Braunoder); Strefezza (74′ Da Cunha), Paz (83′ Mazzitelli), Fadera (83′ Belotti); Cutrone.
