Torino dominated Finnish champions HJK Helsinki 2-0 at the Stadio Olympico de Torino on Thursday night in the Europa League group stage.
It was a pretty comfortable victory for the Granata, as they did not have to sweat, with the goals coming in from Cristian Molinaro in the first half and Amauri in the second half.
HJK remained dormant for most periods of the game rarely venturing into the opponent’s penalty box.
Do you agree or disagree with our ratings? Have your say in the comments below.
Torino
Daniele Padelli – 6 – Spectator
With HJK hardly causing any trouble going forward, the goalkeeper had a pretty comfortable evening.
Cristian Molinaro – 7 – Spectacular
Was Torino’s best player on the pitch and kept pressing up the pitch on the left side. His hunger was rewarded with a well taken goal assisted by full back Darmian.
Pontus Jansson – 6 – Comfortable
Jansson had nearly nothing to do all game with HJK never causing a threat to the Torino defence.
Nikola Maksimovic – 6 – Quiet
Displayed some good ball control and solidarity at the back of the pitch.
Gaston Silva – 6 – Pivot
Played a crucial role at the centre of the defence, spreading the play and receiving a number of passes.
Matteo Darmian- 7 – Workaholic
The Italian international posed a constant threat down the right side of the midfield and was headache to the Finnish side’s defence.
Omar El Kaddouri – 7 – Innovative
Was highly prolific and creative in front of goal causing various problems for the HJK defence. Looked a real spark and unlucky not to get a goal.
Giuseppe Vives – 7.5 – threatening
The 34-year-old was excellent for the Granata and was unlucky as he hit the post twice in the first half.
Marco Benassi – 6 – Involved
Benassi was pretty lively from midfield, remaining effective both on and off the ball.
Josef Martinez – 5 – Ineffective
Did not have an much impact on the game and will not have made his case for a place in the team ahead of Fabio Quagliarella.
Amauri – 6 – Decisive
Definitely not one of Amauri’s best games for the Granata but he did score a powerful goal and was wrongly judged offsideas he put the ball in back of the net in the first half.
Substitutes
Fabio Quagliarella – 6 – Sharp
The former Juventus man came on for goal scorer Amauri and instantly started to attack the HJK defence with his quality causing problems.
Antonio Nocerino – N/A
Nocerino made a fleeting appearance in place of Benassi.
Barreto – N/A
Hardly had time to produce an impact, as he came on for the last 15 minutes in place of Martinez.
HJK Helsinki
Antonio Doblas – 7 – Focused
Although his side soaked up all the pressure from the home team, Doblas stayed on his feet, making a few crucial saves and interceptions.
Gideon Baah – 5 – Poor
It was really a lacklustre performance from Baah as well as his other companions in defence.
Markus Heikkinen – 5 – Average
The defender did try his best at times to prevent the Granata from penetrating them too easily, but looked out of his depth.
Veli Lampi – 4 – Helpless
The right back had a horrible time against full back Darmian, as he was constantly getting beaten down that side.
Sebastian Sorsa – 5 – Disappointing
Being at the helm of midfield, Sorsa had a disappointing game as he could not control the tempo of the game.
Demba Savage – 4 – Reckless
Kept losing the ball on way too many occasions and that cost his side dearly.
Teemu Tainio – 5 – Uninspiring
The captain was nowhere to be seen on the pitch as the game progressed with Torino establishing a solid grip on proceedings.
Robin Lod – 6 – Effective
Lod did his best from the midfield but there was little support from his teammates most of the time.
Anthony Annan – 5 – Strong
Committed to a few hard tackles and even got himself a booking, but did little else.
Erfan Zeneli – 5 – Pacy
Playing as a winger, Zeneli showed his pace on a few occasions, troubling the Granata down the flanks. But spent most of this time helping his full-back.
Macoumba Kandji – 4 – Isolated
The centre forward did not receive much support from his team mates and cut an isolated figure for most parts of the game.
Substitutes
Carljohan Erikosson – 6 – Helpless
Could not do anything about the second goal as he had come on for Doblas during the interval.
Nikolai Alho – N/A
Came in for Zeneli but did not have the time needed to make an impact.
Mika Vayrynen – N/A
Made a substitute cameo appearance in place of the captain Tainio.
