Torino fell to their third defeat in four matches, as they lost a second successive home game against Sampdoria on Sunday afternoon.
Toro made two changes from the side who were beaten by Juventus, as Nikola Maksimovic replaced the injured Emiliano Moretti, whilst Alexander Farnerud replaced the suspended Omar El Kaddouri.
However the home side were behind after only seven minutes after poor defending from a set piece allowed an unmarked Stefano Okako to side foot past Daniele Padelli. Replays suggested that the former Roma front man may have been offside, but Toro still should have cleared the danger before that point.
Okaka could have scored again moments later, but after lobbing the ball over Padelli, he was unlucky to see the ball hit the bar and Cesare Bovo was able to clear the danger. The Granata were creating chances though, and Samp keeper Angelo Da Costa had to be alert to first deny Ciro Immobile, and then Alessio Cerci from close range.
At the start of the second half, a speculative shot from distance from Jasmin Kurtic narrowly whistled past the post. Kamil Glik and then Ciro Immobile both should have done better with half chances, and despite the introduction of Paulo Barreto and Riccardo Meggiorini, Toro couldn't find a breakthrough.
With ten minutes remaining, Sampdoria put the result beyond doubt as Manolo Gabbiadini curled a sensational long range free kick past Padelli to double their lead.
This was a disappointing defeat for Toro as for the second home game in succession the Granata failed to beat a team they were expected to. Further problems may occur in the next match against Inter, as they will be without four of their first choice centre backs, with Glik, Bovo, Maksimovic suspended, and Moretti injured. With matches against Napoli and Roma before the end of the month Torino's hopes of a top ten finish are beginning to look unlikely.
No comments:
Post a Comment