Torino rallies late as Kulenovic strikes to draw with Bologna at the Dall'Ara

Federico Bernardeschi put Bologna in front with a left-footed strike in the 13th minute, and everything pointed to the Renato Dall'Ara celebrating the club's first three points of the tournament. But Torino pushed, pressed and found its reward: Sandro Kulenovic, just off the bench, fired a right-footed shot from outside the box in the 76th minute to make it a final 1-1 in Serie A.

Bernardeschi's goal came from a quick move through the middle of the box, a left-footed finish that slipped in with no chance for the keeper. With that lead in hand, Bologna managed the game as best it could, though Torino had already shown signs of life through chances from Giovanni Simeone and Rolando Mandragora, who rattled the crossbar with a direct free kick just three minutes after the home side's goal.

The second half told a different story. Torino, with Mandragora running the show in midfield, gradually took control and grew more dangerous. The equalizer came from a Mandragora assist, setting up Kulenovic, who had entered the match a short time earlier in place of Kian Fitz-Jim, to finish from outside the area. Four minutes later, Kulenovic nearly completed the turnaround with a header that grazed the crossbar.

Dominance that didn't translate into more goals

The numbers back up the sense that Torino ended up being the sharper team, even if it wasn't enough to secure the win. Bologna struggled to control the ball and could barely create clear chances down the stretch, aside from a shot from Roberto Piccoli that failed to find the target.

As for the xG generated in the match, calculated after the fact based on shot location, Torino finished with 0.986 compared to Bologna's 0.672. A gap consistent with what played out on the field: more passes, more corners and more shots on target for the visitors.

The buildup had pointed to a very different outcome than the one that actually unfolded. Our model gave Bologna a 55% chance of winning, against just 18% for Torino and 27% for a draw, with expected goals of 1.66 for the home side and 0.87 for the visitors. The final result ended up being the draw, the least likely of the three scenarios but the one that actually happened, and Torino, far from being the team with fewer arguments, was the one that caused more trouble in the second half.

What the result means in the standings

Neither side comes out of this particularly well placed in the table. Bologna sits on 2 points after five matches, still without a win, while Torino has 4 points also in five outings, with one win, one draw and three losses. The gap between the two in the standings is just 2 points, confirming how even the contest was on the field, even though Torino's strong finish wasn't enough to claim all three points.

Bologna leaves with the feeling of having let slip a lead it controlled for more than an hour. Torino, on the other hand, can take the point as a sign of character, built on Mandragora's assist and Kulenovic's goal, the moment that shifted the scoreline just when the match seemed all but settled.