Torino 1 - 0 Inter: Woodwork and Sirigu condemn the Nerazzurri to defeat

TURIN - Inter lost for the fourth time this season in one of the most unfortunate ways after dominating for large spells away against Walter Mazzarri’s Torino. The Nerazzurri hit the woodwork twice and were up against Salvatore Sirigu who was on top form as Ljajic’s goal in the 36th minute secured the win for Toro. Spalletti’s team therefore remain on 50 points in the table, just one behind Roma while waiting for the result from Lazio’s match against Udinese. 

Inter were aggressive from the start. Between the fourth and sixth minutes, Candreva stung the palms of Sirigu with a shot from outside the area before he was then stopped by Moretti while trying to shoot after being set up by Skriniar. There was a good chance in the eleventh minute after Sirigu dropped it from a Cancelo cross. However, the Croatian’s lob was too weak and the Granata goalkeeper made the save. It was Sirigu again who made an extraordinary save from Icardi on 13 minutes after he was set up by Cancelo from a corner. Torino got up the pitch with a Ljajic free kick that went off target. In the 18th minute, Icardi played it to Candreva whose shot was turned behind by Sirigu for a corner. The Candreva/Sirigu duel continued in the 31st minute with the home goalkeeper doing very well to keep out a powerful right-foot effort with Miranda then hitting the post from the follow-up but play was stopped for offside. After 30 minutes of Inter being in control, Torino took the lead. While challenging Belotti, Perisic accidentally played the ball into the path of De Silvestri with Adem Ljajic turning home from his low cross. Torino scored in the 36th minute and the sides went into the break with the score at 1-0 with a sense of regret for all the chances not taken. 

The teams came back out unchanged after the break. In the 50th minute, Sirigu saved a central long-range effort from Brozovic. Then, there were two chances for De Silvestri from Ljajic free kicks. With the first, he headed over in the 51st minute before his flick-on was brilliantly turned over in the 55th minute by Handanovic. 

This was the best period of the match for the home side and they had a chance to double their lead in the 57th minute. Ansaldi played in Ljajic who burst into the box but dragged wide from an excellent position. Spalletti brought Rafinha on for Candreva who had taken some knocks. Inter started to press once more. In the 59th minute, Sirigu made another great stop from Skriniar this time. In the 64th minute, it was N’Koulou who came to the rescue for Torino with a goalline clearance from Miranda’s header. Three minutes later, Perisic couldn’t control a piercing ball from Brozovic but the big chance to level came in the 70th minute. Rafinha let fly with a perfect left-foot strike but he was denied by the post. Torino were under constant pressure until the substitute Edera drew a save from Handanovic in the 84th minute before Inter started to push once more. In the 86th minute, Sirigu turned over a powerful right-foot effort from Karamoh who had replaced Borja Valero. Four minutes of stoppage time were awarded but the result didn’t change. Inter fell to an undeserved 1-0 defeat at the hands of Torino. 

The Nerazzurri will be back on Saturday 14th April at 20:45 CEST with the trip to Bergamo to face Atalanta with the aim of returning to winning ways. Now and forever, #ForzaInter! 

TORINO 1-0 INTER 

GOALS: 36' Ljajic (T)

TORINO: 39 Sirigu; 33 N'Koulou, 13 Burdisso, 24 Moretti; 29 De Silvestri, 8 Baselli (79' 6 Acquah), 22 Obi (88' 5 Valdifiori), 15 Ansaldi; 10 Ljajic; 14 Iago Falque (73' 20 Edera), 9 Belotti

Bench: 1 Ichazo, 32 V. Milinkovic-Savic, 3 Molinaro, 4 Bonifazi, 21 Berenguer, 23 Barreca

Coach: Walter Mazzarri

INTER: 1 Handanovic; 7 Cancelo, 37 Skriniar, 25 Miranda, 33 D'Ambrosio (87' 13 Ranocchia); 77 Brozovic, 5 Gagliardini; 87 Candreva (59' 8 Rafinha), 20 B. Valero (68' 17 Karamoh), 44 Perisic; 9 Icardi

Bench: 27 Padelli, 46 Berni, 2 Lisandro, 21 Santon, 23 Eder, 29 Dalbert, 99 Pinamonti

Coach: Luciano Spalletti

Bookings: Miranda (I), Belotti (T), Brozovic (I), Gagliardini (I), Baselli (T)

Stoppage Time: 1' + 4'

Referee: Tagliavento

Assistants: Meli, Vuoto

Fourth Official: Fourneau

VAR Operators: Maresca, Posado