Torino 1-2 Napoli: Azzurri return to second place with victory over Granata

Date: 8th May 2016 at 10:57pm
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Torino FC v SSC Napoli - Serie ANapoli limped to a 2-1 victory over Torino in Serie A at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin on Sunday night.

Gonzalo Higuain opened the scoring with a calm finish after 12 minutes. The away side sliced up Torino, leaving Jose Callejon with an easy finish for the second just eight minutes later. Bruno Peres did get a goal back for the hosts 20 minutes into the second period, but Torino could not snatch an equaliser to steal a point.

The visitors knew they needed a result to climb back to second after Roma’s impressive 3-0 victory over Chievo earlier in the day. But it was Il Toro who thought they had taken the lead after Andrea Belotti nipped in at the near post, only to realise his effort was ruled out for offside.

Napoli immediately broke with pace and Marek Hamsik played in Higuain on the left of the box who calmly struck his effort past the ‘keeper and scampering defenders, and into the bottom corner.

The lead was doubled after 20 minutes when the Granata defence was carved up and Hamsik again squared the crucial pass, leaving Callejon to tap home from close range.

Higuain could’ve made it three, moments later, when he created half a yard and unleashed a daisy cutter which he was unfortunate to see rebound off the foot of the post and out of harms way.

The visitor settled the game down, with Torino shell-shocked by the position the found themselves in. The second half started much the same, with the intensity sucked out of it. This saw the Partenopei become complacent though and it was Torino who scored the third goal after 65 minutes.

A wonderfully lofted ball from Giuseppe Vives saw an onrushing Bruno Peres connect with a cheeky, but somewhat fortunate, lob which Pepe Reina’s fingertips could not prevent from creeping over the line.

Neither side could create anything concrete in the remaining minutes and the main bit of action saw Giuseppe Vives pick up a second booking in injury time for a dangerous lunge.

The three points meant Napoli leapfrogged Roma into second place with it all to play for on the final day. Torino stay in 11th and are comfortably set for a mid-table finish.

 

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