TURIN-LECCE 2-0
The Granata make no mistakes at the Olimpico, with a one-two in the second half: they overtake Napoli, now the cups are only one point apart
16 feb 2024
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The 25th day of A league opens with the great test of Torinowhich spreads in the second half and defeats 2-0 Lecce. A play is needed Bellanova (49′) to break the deadlock in a match that had been played very well by the guests, who were good at closing every space. The red a Pongracic (70′) further complicates things for D’Aversa, who suffers the second goal from Zapata, scored again against Lecce. Juric smiles: now the sevenths are one point away.
THE MATCH
After a complicated first half, Torino found a one-two and a fundamental victory in their pursuit of Europe: goals from Bellanova and Duvan Zapata earned them a 2-0 win over Lecce and brought Juric closer to the fight for the cups. The first outbursts at the Olimpico came from Toro, who however were unable to break through against the orderly defense of their rivals. The Salento team closed off every space, didn’t make Vlasic think and came close to scoring in the 15th minute: Vanja Milinkovic-Savic risked making a mess, losing the ball and serving Piccoli, with Masina saving the shot with a sure shot. The risk awakens Torino, who are unable to get a shot on goal, with Pellegri and Duvan Zapata very disconnected from each other (and Sanabria on the bench). The first and only signal from the Granata came after taking a risk on an incursion from Dorgu, with Vlasic hitting the outside of the net just before the final whistle. The 0-0 held until the 49th minute, when the home team broke the deadlock: Bellanova struck with a great low shot from the edge, being served by an unlucky touch from Gendrey. Lecce reacts immediately with substitutions and comes close to scoring with Kaba, only to then suffer a blow in the 70th minute: Pongracic, already booked and responsible for various risky interventions, receives a second yellow card and is sent off. Falcone saves Lecce on the chance for Sanabria, but can do nothing in the 81st minute: Duvan Zapata stands out from Vojvoda’s corner, punishes the Salento team again and scores the 2-0 which closes the game. There is also room for Okereke, who saw his third goal canceled out (first for Toro) because the ball had gone off the field before his rebound in the 91st minute. Torino wins and rejoices: Juric flies to 36 points, overtakes Napoli (35) and moves within one point of seventh place (Lazio and Fiorentina), catching a glimpse of Europe. Lecce stops at 24 points, knocked out again away from home.
REPORT CARDS
Zapata 7 – He punishes Lecce again, who confirms himself as one of his favorite victims: perfect goring and (deserved) goal making it 2-0 for Toro. In the difficult first half, the former Atalanta player was one of the most lucid.
Bellanova 7 – Performance by Frecciarossa in the right lane. He won the duel against Dorgu by a landslide, often making himself dangerous and finding the net with a whip from the edge.
Pilgrims 5 – With Sanabria injured, he lines up alongside Duvan Zapata and makes his teammate regret it. Little movement and a lot of confusion, he never manages to make himself dangerous or connect with the Colombian.
Baschirotto 6 – One of the last to surrender in Lecce. He closed every space in the first half and saved what could be saved in the second half, only giving up when he was completely cut off in the 2-0 lead.
Pongracic 4.5 – From the very first minutes he is extremely nervous, as demonstrated by the repeated fouls. Ayroldi warns him on a couple of occasions, then he can’t help but draw the red card: he leaves the field in the 70th minute and condemns his team, who had just raised their center of gravity.
THE SCORESHEET
TORINO (3-4-1-2) – Milinkovic-Savic 6; Djidji 6, Lovato 6, Machine 6; Bellanova 6.5, Ricci 6, Ilic 6.5 (43rd Gineitis sv), Lazarus 5.5 (29th Vojvoda 6); Vlasic 6 (15′ st Linetty 6); Pellegri 5 (15′ st Sanabria 6.5), Zapata 7 (43′ st Okereke sv). Position: Gemello, Popa, Sazonov, Savva. All. Juric.
LECCE (4-3-3) – Falcone 6; Gendrey 5.5, Pongracic 4.5, Baschirotto 6, Dorgu 5.5 (34′ st Gallo sv); Blin 5.5 (15′ st Kaba 5.5), Ramadani 6, Rafia 5.5 (15′ st Sansone 5.5); Almqvist 5.5, Piccoli 6 (34′ st Krstovic sv), Oudin 5.5 (29′ st Touba 6). Available: Samooja, Borbei, Venuti, Gonzalez, Berisha, Burnete, Pierotti. All. D’Aversa.
Referee: Separated.
Markers: 4′ st Bellanova (T), 35′ st Zapata (T).
Warned: Pongracic (L), Djidji (T), Blin (L), Dorgu (L).
Note: Pongracic (L) sent off in the 25th minute for a second yellow card.
THE STATISTICS
Torino have kept 12 clean sheets in this championship in 24 games, the last time the Granata had recorded at least 12 clean sheets after 24 Serie A seasonal games was in 1991/92 (13 in that case and third place in the standings at the end of the championship).
Ivan Juric’s 100th bench with Torino in Serie A, the Croatian coach is the seventh Granata coach with the most benches in the top flight.
Raoul Bellanova (17 May 2000) is one of four defenders born from 2000 onwards to have been involved in at least five goals in the five main European leagues this season (five – one goal and four assists), together with Destiny Udogie, Yan Couto and Jeremy Frimpong.
Torino remained undefeated in their last six league matches (3W, 3N), with Ivan Juric at the helm only once had the Granata recorded six consecutive matches without defeat in Serie A: between April and May 2022 (3W, 3N in that case).
Torino have won two consecutive home games in Serie A against Lecce for the first time since the period between 1990 and 1993 with Emiliamo Mondonico on the bench.
Lecce have lost their last six league away games, scoring just one goal – the Giallorossi have not recorded so many defeats away from home in a row in Serie A since the period between October and December 2010, with Luigi De Canio as coach.
Since mid-December, only Frosinone (25) have conceded more goals than Lecce in Serie A (19), in the same period, the Salento team is the only team not to have obtained any away points in the competition (six defeats in as many matches).
First goal in the league for Raoul Bellanova, the Granata full-back had not scored in Serie A for 719 days, since the goal scored against Torino on 27 February 2022 when he wore the Cagliari shirt.
Duván Zapata scored in two consecutive matches in Serie A for the first time since November 2021, with the Atalanta shirt (a series of five consecutive goals in that case). Furthermore, among the teams against which he has scored at least three goals in Serie A, Lecce is the one against which the Granata attacker boasts the best average minutes/goals: a goal every 58 minutes (six goals in five matches).
Torino have conceded just one goal in their last six matches at the Olimpico Grande Torino in the league, keeping a clean sheet in the two most recent ones. The Granata could record three home clean sheets in a row in Serie A for the first time since the period between December 2018 and March 2019 (five in that case with Walter Mazzarri on the bench).
Since he sat on the Turin bench (August 2021), Lecce has become only the second team – after Sampdoria – against which Ivan Juric wins all of his first four matches as coach of the Granata.
Marin Pongracic’s first dismissal in Serie A, the last red card received by the Croatian footballer in his career was on 27 February 2021 with the Wolfsburg shirt.
In his 100th appearance in Serie A, Mërgim Vojvoda provided his first assist in this championship – the Granata defender’s last appearance in the competition was on 3 May (winning pass vs Sampdoria).
100th appearance with Torino for Karol Linetty considering all competitions.
2024-02-16 20:00:49
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