Torino Storms Back to Snatch Win From Fiorentina at the Franchi

It took just one minute after the restart for Mateo Pellegrino to spark the only moment of real joy at the Artemio Franchi. His left-footed strike from outside the box, set up by a Radu Dragusin counterattack, made it 1-0 right at the start of the second half. But Torino refused to fold and ended up flipping the result: goals from Rolando Mandragora in the 73rd minute and Che Adams in the 81st sealed a 1-2 that leaves Fiorentina empty-handed once again.

The first half had been an even exchange with nothing to show for it. Fiorentina came out with more purpose, with early shots from Franco Mastantuono and Alieu Njie failing to find the target, while Torino answered through Rolando Mandragora and Nikola Vlasic testing from distance. The scoreboard stayed blank through the 45 minutes plus stoppage time, though there were plenty of signs the game would be decided by fine margins.

Pellegrino's strike and the visitors' response

Fiorentina struck first the moment play resumed. Pellegrino's goal, capitalizing on a quick counter set up by Dragusin, seemed to give fresh life to a team in need of good news. The hosts kept pushing with chances from Wilfried Gnonto and Arthur Atta, both just off the bench, but couldn't add to their lead.

Torino, patient throughout, grew into the match and got their reward in the 73rd minute: Rolando Mandragora unleashed a left-footed shot from outside the area that curled into the top right corner, assisted by Eray Comert, to level the score. Eight minutes later came the decisive blow. Che Adams, set up by Rafik Belghali, finished from close range into the top left corner for the 1-2 that would stand as the final score.

The numbers behind the result

The stats paint a picture of a match in which Torino controlled more of the ball and ended up more clinical despite fewer shots.

According to our post-match xG estimate based on the shots taken, Fiorentina generated 1.395 expected goals to Torino's 0.916. The numbers confirm the hosts had more and better chances, but it wasn't enough to turn them into a favorable result.

The contrast with our pre-match projection is stark. Our model gave Fiorentina a 54% chance of winning, against 20% for Torino and 26% for a draw, with expected goals split at 1.79 for the hosts and 1.04 for the visitors. Reality ended up going the other way: the less-favored side walked away with all three points.

What the result means for the table

For Fiorentina, the blow is twofold. This loss leaves them with 0 points from 3 games played, without a win or a draw, and bottom of the table in 20th place with a goal difference of -8. Torino, for their part, don't have much to celebrate in the standings either: they sit on 3 points from 3 matches, one win and two losses, in 14th place. The gap between the two sides is just 3 points, though today's result left the visitors with a clear psychological edge over a team stuck near the bottom of the table.

The truth is that at the Artemio Franchi, Fiorentina had less of the ball but created more chances and even took the lead through a Pellegrino goal. It wasn't enough: Torino knew how to bide their time and struck twice when it hurt most, in the closing stretch of the match.