Torino overturn Monza test as individual moments decide tight contest
Kian Fitz-Jim, Rafik Belghali and Nikola Vlašić scored for Torino as Ivan Juric's first game back at the Olimpico Grande Torino ended in defeat for Monza.
Torino beat Monza 3-2 at the Olimpico Grande Torino on Thursday, scoring through Kian Fitz-Jim, Rafik Belghali and Nikola Vlašić to extend their winning run to two matches, according to Football Italia.
The result marked Ivan Juric's return to the stadium with Monza, who had arrived in good form after thrashing Cagliari 4-0, but left with their second defeat of the campaign despite goals from Gustavo Varela and a late Nathan Patterson own goal.
Ignazio Abate made one change from the side that won 3-0 at Parma, bringing in Fitz-Jim for Daniel Bragança, while Monza recalled Lorenzo Lucchesi from suspension in place of Eddy Kouadio, who had scored against Cagliari.
Fitz-Jim's breakthrough showed the value of a direct carry
Torino's opener, six minutes before half-time, came from a sequence that rewarded directness over patience. Fitz-Jim collected a pass from Giovanni Simeone, drove at the Monza defence and finished into the roof of the net from inside the area.
That kind of carry matters because it collapses a defensive structure before it can reset: rather than working the ball around a settled block, Fitz-Jim attacked the space in transition, turning a forward pass into a shooting chance within a few strides. It was his first involvement of note after coming into the side, and it gave Torino the lead they would not relinquish for long but would eventually restore.
Monza's response arrived swiftly. Two minutes into the second half, Varela pounced on what Football Italia described as a defensive mistake, rolling a low finish into the bottom corner from the right of the box. The goal underlined how exposed Torino's backline had become in the moments after conceding possession cheaply, a reminder that transition defending is judged by the recovery of shape as much as by individual duels.
Belghali and Vlašić punished a side pinned back
Torino's response to going level was built on wide areas rather than central combination. Belghali, operating as a wing-back, beat two defenders and curled a finish from outside the box into the bottom corner on 61 minutes, a goal that owed as much to his dribbling in isolation as to any created overload. Goalkeeper Noel Törnqvist had already denied Belghali, Simeone and Pietro Comuzzo in the period before the goal went in, which suggests Torino's territorial control in that spell was greater than the scoreline reflected.
Vlašić's winner, in the 72nd minute, came from a loose ball at the edge of the area, which he struck high into the net. Goals of this type depend on positioning for the second ball rather than a specific pattern of play, and Torino's willingness to crowd that zone after Belghali's goal left them better placed to capitalise when Monza failed to clear fully.
Mandragora's withdrawal through injury shortly after Monza's equaliser could easily have destabilised Torino in midfield, yet the team's response, two goals in eleven minutes, indicated that the loss did not disrupt their attacking structure in the short term.
Set pieces bookended a contest decided by moments
The match opened and closed with set-piece incidents that did not change the scoreline but framed the contest. Dany Mota headed wide from an early corner for Monza, while Ardian Ismajli went close from a Torino set piece soon after. Those chances, both unconverted, were a reminder that dead-ball situations remain a route into games even when neither side ultimately profits from them.
Monza had a late penalty appeal for a foul on Ricardo Mangas waved away in stoppage time before half-time, and substitute Michael Folorunsho tested Lucas Perri from distance late on as the visitors pushed for an equaliser. Patterson's own goal in the fourth minute of added time gave the scoreline a harsher look for Monza than the balance of the closing stages suggested, with Torino having already done the defensive work needed to protect Vlašić's winner.
Torino's win takes them to back-to-back victories in Serie A, while Monza, who had arrived off the back of their heaviest win of the season, now face the task of tightening a defence that conceded twice through individual errors and a transition at the Olimpico Grande Torino.