Como storms back with three goals in final 11 minutes to stun Torino 3-1

Torino went into halftime with a lead and a clear plan: hold onto the 1-0 and collect all three points at home. What they didn't account for was Como, who despite having just 27.6% possession for the entire match, had a late surge saved up for the closing stretch. The final score ended up 1-3 in favor of the Lombards, who came from behind with three goals between the 80th and 91st minutes at the Olimpico Grande Torino, in Serie A action.

For the first half hour, Torino was the sharper side even with less of the ball. Che Adams turned that into a goal in the 23rd minute, finishing with his left foot from the center of the box off an assist from Kian Fitz-Jim, to make it 1-0. Como pushed back with some chances of their own, a shot from Jacobo Ramon in the 31st minute and another from Maxence Caqueret that rang off the crossbar in the 53rd, but couldn't find the breakthrough, and the score held at the narrow margin well into the second half.

Chaos in the final minutes

Everything changed in just eleven minutes. In the 80th minute, off a corner kick, Nico Paz whipped in a cross that Jacobo Ramon met with a header from point blank range, just inside the left post, to level things at 1-1. Como didn't let up, and in the 86th minute came the decisive blow: a cross from Yan Couto found Nico Paz again, who this time finished with a header from the center of the box to make it 1-2. The knockout punch landed in stoppage time, in the 91st minute, when Martin Baturina, who had come on from the bench, fired home with his right foot from the center of the box to make the final score 1-3.

Como's dominance wasn't a fluke when you look at the match numbers. Cesc Fabregas's side controlled the ball for nearly the entire game, generated more shots, and finished with a far higher estimated xG than their opponents.

According to our post match estimate, Torino generated 1.45 expected goals and Como 2.738. Those numbers back up what played out on the field: a home side that made the most of the little it had in the first half, and a visiting side that ultimately imposed its volume of play.

The result, in fact, lines up with what we projected before kickoff. Our preview gave Como a 57% chance to win, against 17% for Torino and 26% for a draw, with expected goals of 1.78 for the visitors and 0.90 for the home side. The final scoreline ended up even more favorable for Como than that forecast suggested, but the direction of the result is no surprise in light of those numbers.

What it means in the standings

In the Serie A table, Como came into this match in fourth place with 20 points from 9 games played (6 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss), while Torino sat eighth with 13 points from 9 games (4 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses), a gap of 7 points between the two sides. The comeback in Turin confirms the good run Fabregas's team is on, while Torino, who had held their own for more than an hour, once again came up short of closing out a lead until the final whistle.