Relegation-threatened Torino were made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal, as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Parma in Serie A on Saturday.
The Granata enjoyed the bulk of the chances and were ahead within 15 minutes through a powerful Nicolas Nkoulou header, only for Juraj Kucka to pull Parma level soon after.
Andrea Belotti had the chance to put Torino back in the lead early in the second half, but saw his weak penalty saved by Luigi Sepe, whilst Simone Edera missed a close range effort late on as Torino’s winless run extended to seven.
Torino had the better of a slow start for both teams, as Simone Zaza was unable to get enough power on a stooping header, whilst Alejandro Berenguer nodded wide.
However, with a quarter of an hour gone the hosts were in the lead. Nkoulou lost his marker at a corner and crashed a powerful header beyond Sepe, despite the goalkeeper getting a hand to the ball.
The Cameroonian almost netted at the other end shortly after though, having misjudged a headed clearance from a deep Kucka cross. Salvatore Sirigu was on hand to tip over and prevent an own goal, before getting down low to prevent Jasmin Kurtic’s strike from the resulting corner.
Parma were growing into the match and found themselves level on the half-hour mark through Kucka. After Dejan Kulusevski’s deep cross was not cleared properly, the Slovakia international met Gervinho’s cut back from the byline to drill beyond Sirigu from just inside the penalty area.
Yet it was Torino who looked the most likely to take the lead before the interval, but Lorenzo De Silvestri’s header was well stopped after ghosting in at the back post shortly before the break.
The Granata began the second half strongly and squandered a glorious chance to regain the lead in the opening exchanges. De Silvestri got behind the defence and headed the ball across the face of goal, only for Sepe to block Zaza’s effort from point blank range.
However, Edera was caught by Simone Iacoponi as he looked to apply the finish on the follow up, earning Torino a penalty. Belotti stepped up but saw a weak strike well saved by Sepe.
Midway through the second period Parma almost went ahead, as Kulusevski worked space for himself on the edge of the box and rifled in a low drive, forcing Sirigu into a strong low save.
Torino were finding plenty of joy with crosses beyond the face of goal but were let down by poor finishing once more. Ola Aina stepped off the bench to bend an inch-perfect delivery away from the defence, only for Edera to slice wide from close range.
Moments later, a similar move was intercepted by a magnificent Riccardo Gagliolo sliding challenge as De Lorenzo waited to tap in at the back post.
Despite their best efforts, Torino were unable to force their way through and had to settle for a draw, leaving them without a victory since January.
