Torino keeps rolling, notching its third straight win. Varela isn’t enough for Monza
Torino is on a roll: Abate’s team defeated Monza 3-2 in the early match of the eighth round of Serie A, securing its third consecutive league victory. Thanks to this result, the Granata climb to 13 points in eighth place, while Monza remain in 14th place with 7 points.
After a fast-paced and evenly matched start, with a clear chance for each side, the home team took the initiative, creating dangerous opportunities near Tornqvist’s goal through Ismajli and Simeone. Monza, on the other hand, struggled to mount counterattacks. In the 39th minute, Torino took the lead: after a mistake by Ondoa, Simeone recovered the ball and fed Fitz-Jim in the box, who beat Tornqvist to put the Granata up 1-0 and score his first goal in Serie A. Toward the end of the half, the Brianzole players protested after Mangas went down in the box, but the referee let play continue and the VAR did not intervene.
Early in the second half, Abate’s team suffered two setbacks: in the 47th minute, Comuzzo mishandled a clearance, Varela capitalized, and beat the onrushing Perri to tie the game at 1-1. In the 50th minute, midfield anchor Mandragora picked up an injury and was forced to leave the game with a thigh problem; Gineitis came on in his place.
The Piedmontese side maintained control of the game, however, and came close to taking the lead through Belghali and Che Adams. In the 61st minute, the Algerian international put Torino back in front with a brilliant play: he dribbled past Mota on the left and beat Tornqvist with a curling right-footed shot to make it 2-1.
Monza threw caution to the wind in search of the equalizer, but Perri made a spectacular save in the 68th minute on Mangas’s sure-fire shot. In the 74th minute, Vlasic sealed the win: on a cross from Belghali, the Croatian beat everyone to the ball and fired a powerful shot to score the third goal, securing the victory. As time ran out, Patterson scored an own goal, but by then it was too late for Monza.
