Hellas Verona and Torino played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi in Sunday’s early afternoon Serie A fixture.
Luca Toni and Juanito twice gave the Gialloblu the lead but Daniele Baselli and Afriyie Acquah responded in kind for Il Toro.
Rafael Marquez had the first chance of the game but his header was too high as the home side looked to set the tone in the opening exchanges.
Cristian Molinaro’s runs from the left flank were the Granata’s main threat but Fabio Quagliarella and Andrea Belotti struggled to find space inside Verona’s crowded penalty area.
Daniele Padelli was forced to make a smart save from Toni’s powerful header, diving low to his right to scoop the ball away from danger.
Eros Pisano failed to turn the ball into the net following a scramble in Torino’s six-yard area as the home side tried to end the half with a flourish.
Minutes later, the Mastini were adamant that Toni had been hauled down by Cesare Bovo but the referee waved away penalty claims before the interval.
The Gialloblu were awarded a penalty two minutes after the restart when Juanito went down in the box despite minimal contact, and Luca Toni smashed the spot-kick into the roof of the net to give Verona the lead.
Pisano missed a chance to make it two-nil, before Kamil Glik failed to convert a great opportunity at the other end.
The away side crept into the game and were rewarded when Baselli slotted in the rebound after Quagliarella’s powerful drive was parried by Rafael.
The hosts were back in front just moments later from Juanito’s glancing header, but Torino equalised immediately when Afriyie Acquah’s side-footed volley from 20 yards made it 2-2.
Torino had strong claims for hand-ball dismissed in the latter stages and both sides settled for a hard-fought draw.
The result means that Verona are still searching for their first win of the season while Torino remain unbeaten.
