Torino are on the verge of returning to Serie A after an impressive 3-0 victory against promotion rivals Sassuolo on Tuesday evening.
Once again Giampiero Ventura made a number of changes from the side that were beaten at Pescara, as Alessandro Parisi, Giuseppe Vives, Juan Surraco, Rolando Bianchi and Riccardo Meggiorini all came into the starting eleven.
After Hellas Verona failed to beat Albinoleffe on Monday, both sides knew that victory would put them within touching distance of promotion. It was the home side who started the brightest, with Rolando Bianchi volleying wide in the opening ten minutes. However, Torino's top scorer for the last two seasons was later forced off with a hamstring injury and was replaced by Mirco Antenucci.
Experienced midfielder Giuseppe Vives who has impressed in recent weeks came agonisingly close to opening the scoring, but his curling shot from 30 yards out hit the post. However, on the half hour mark, Torino did take the lead when Vives' corner was headed in by Danilo D'Ambrosio to score his sixth goal for the club - five of which have been with his head.
The away side almost levelled before half time, after a rare mistake by Angelo Ogbonna put Gianluca Sansone through on goal, but his shot was saved by Francesco Benussi. And Sassuolo were made to pay for that miss, as five minutes after the break Torino doubled their lead - and incredibly it came from a long range Alessandro Parisi's drilled free kick.
Parisi has taken the majority of Toro's set pieces this season with no goals coming to fruition, but on this occasion, his strike could only be parried by Alberto Pomini - and after good work from Mirco Antenucci, Migjen Basha was on hand to score. Fifteen minutes later the away side had a fantastic opportunity to get back into the match when they were awarded a penalty after Basha had fouled Carl Valeri.
However, Sassuolo striker Gianluca Sansone could not take that opportunity as he blazed his penalty over the bar. And with ten minutes remaining, Torino put the result beyond any doubt after good work from Giuseppe Vives down the left wing allowed Riccardo Meggiorini to score for the second consecutive home game.
The importance of this victory was not lost on either the players or the fans (some of whom invaded the pitch after the final whistle) as it now means that Torino are just two points away from promotion. Toro's long-awaited return to Serie A can be sealed with a victory at home against Modena on Sunday, and should that victory be forthcoming then Turin will once again be painted Granata in celebration.
Forza Torino
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