Torino made it three Serie A wins in a row by beating Monza 3-2 at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino on Friday night. Kian Fitz-Jim, Rafik Belghali and Nikola Vlašić scored for Ignazio Abate's side against their former coach Ivan Jurić, whose Monza team had won in Turin in the Coppa Italia in September. A stoppage-time own goal by substitute Nathan Patterson made the score closer than the game had been.
Match facts
- Result: Torino 3-2 Monza (half-time 1-0)
- Competition: Serie A, Matchday 8
- Venue: Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, Turin
- Scorers: Torino - Fitz-Jim 39', Belghali 61', Vlašić 72'; Monza - Varela 47', Patterson 90+4' (og)
- Red cards: None
- Next: Torino v Como (Serie A), Tuesday 27 October, 19:45 UK; Napoli v Monza (Serie A), Wednesday 28 October, 19:45 UK
How the match unfolded
The first half was tight, and Torino lost Rolando Mandragora to an injury. Play was stopped for him midway through the half, and Gvidas Gineitis replaced him after the break. Ardian Ismajli was booked for holding back Gustavo Varela in the 34th minute.
Torino went ahead in the 39th minute. Giovanni Simeone intercepted a pass from Manga Foe Ondoa and set up Fitz-Jim, who fired a left-footed shot into the top corner past Noel Törnqvist. It was the former Ajax midfielder's first goal for Torino, according to TuttoMercatoWeb.
Monza were level two minutes into the second half. Pietro Comuzzo's back-pass fell short, and Varela got to the ball first and lifted it over Lucas Perri. Gazzetta dello Sport said it was his seventh goal of the season.
Torino went back in front in the 61st minute. Belghali took a pass from Gineitis, cut inside and curled a shot past Törnqvist from outside the area. Perri then made a diving save to keep out a header from Ricardo Mangas. In the 72nd minute Belghali's cross was deflected into the path of Vlašić, who beat Andrea Carboni with a feint and smashed the ball in under the crossbar.
Ché Adams and substitute Sandro Kulenović both shot narrowly wide as Torino looked for a fourth. Monza got a late lifeline four minutes into stoppage time when Patterson, who had come on in the 71st minute, scored an own goal, but Torino held on.
What it means
Torino are now unbeaten in four league games. According to ANSA, they had not won three Serie A games in a row since 2019. They move up to 13 points, level with Cagliari and Frosinone, before the rest of Matchday 8 is played. Torino have also never lost to Monza in Serie A, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, and Jurić, who coached Torino for 122 games between 2021 and 2024, returned to Turin without a point.
Monza stay on seven points after scoring 13 goals in their first seven games, a club record for this stage of a Serie A season according to Torino's official preview. For more from Serie A this season, see Juventus 0-3 Lazio and AC Milan 3-2 Atalanta.
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