Inter’s hopes of a top three finish have been all but shattered following a 2-1 home loss to Giampiero Ventura’s men.
Nine-man Inter Milan received a rude shock at the San Siro following an insipid performance against a determined Torino side, with the Granata coming from behind to claim victory at the San Siro on Sunday night.
The match began brightly for Roberto Mancini’s charges as they pegged Torino back into their own half and won a penalty early on, though a harsh one at that, as Marcelo Brozovic’s drilled shot hit the arm of the sliding Emiliano Moretti. Mauro Icardi made no mistake from the spot, confidently dispatching the penalty to put the hosts up 1-0.
The second half began very unlike the first, as the away side gained momentum and were given the time and space to launch attacks of their own. One of these attacking forays resulted in the equaliser, with a fine move from Il Toro making its way into Inter’s penalty area, where Maxi López held held up play before flicking on to the onrushing Cristian Molinaro, who tucked it away past Samir Handanovic.
Not long after, the game was turned on its head as João Miranda was sent off for a second bookable offence, this time fouling Andrea Belotti from behind just before the hour mark.
With the extra man advantage, Torino kept piling on the pressure. It eventually became telling, as another intelligent piece of play from the away side resulted in the second sending off of the game for Inter as well as a Torino penalty, with Yuto Nagatomo this time bringing down Belotti inside the box to earn a straight red card.
And it was 22-year-old Belotti who stepped up for the spot kick and calmly placed it into the bottom corner, scoring his eighth in 2016 and completing a commendable turnaround for the side from Turin.
The result marks Torino’s first win in six in the league, with their last coming back in February, and sees them move up to 11th on 36 points, whilst the Nerazzurri remain in fifth as they failed to capitalise on Fiorentina’s slip up earlier in the day against Sampdoria.
Formations
Mancini stuck with his 4-2-3-1 formation that harvested positive results prior to this encounter, with four personnel changes made to the side that drew with AS Roma. Davide Santon made a return to the first team in the place of Danilo D’Ambrosio, whilst Jeison Murillo made way for Juan Jesus at centre-back. Icardi returned to the starting lineup following his injury as Éder had to settle for a spot on the bench, and Rodrigo Palacio came back into the team in expense for Jonathan Biabiany.
Inter Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Handanovic (GK); Santon, Miranda, Juan, Nagatomo; Brozovic, Medel; Ljajic, Palacio, Perišic; Icardi.
Ventura, meanwhile, made five changes to the side that was defeated 4-1 by Juventus before the international break, with the 3-5-2 formation remaining intact. At centre-back, Nikola Maksimovic and Kamil Glik made way for Cesare Bovo and Pontus Jansson, while Molinaro and Joel Obi came in for Gastón Silva and Afriyie Acquah respectively. The final change came up front, where the injured Ciro Immobile was replaced by Maxi López.
Torino XI (3-5-2): Padelli (GK); Bovo, Jansson, Moretti; Peres, Benassi, Vives, Obi, Molinaro; López, Belotti.
Inter pressure pegs Torino inside own half
Throughout most of the first half, the away side was on the back foot as Inter constantly pushed forward into their opponent’s area and did not allow them much time on the ball to get past the halfway line.
This pressure and high placement of Mancini’s defenders resulted in the first half penalty which Icardi scored, and it may have harboured even more success had the Nerazzurri been better on and off the ball.
Ultimately, this pressure ceased very early in the second half, allowing Torino to run riot and eventually come out 2-1 winners at the San Siro.
Torino runners in midfield overwhelm Inter
Following a first half that saw the away side on the back foot for the entirety of the opening 45 minutes, Ventura instilled a certain style of play and determination that saw the Granata completely outrun their opponents in the 45 minutes that followed.
Inter still occasionally made forays forward, though Torino were the ones who created the better chances in that timeframe as they had options all over the pitch due to the hard running and astute zonal play of the Il Toro midfielders.
Add to this the lack of backtracking from from the two wide players in the Nerazzurri lineup and you get a side that is prone to being overrun by a five-man Torino midfield and two dynamic strikers who run in behind and link up well.
Belotti/López combination too much for Miranda to handle
Throughout the entirety of the contest, the striking pair were constant menaces to the Inter Milan defence, setting others up or getting on the end of passes to strike on goal themselves. On another day Maxi López may have scored and Belotti may have slotted more than one into the back of the net, though the performances the strikers put in was key to their side’s victory.
Both Maxi López and Belotti made a La Liga winning defender (and Champions League finalist and Brazil international to boot) look inept. With Maxi López using his strength to hold off Miranda, and Belotti using his pace and shrewd movement off the ball, many chances were created by the away side.
The first goal came as a result of Maxi López holding off the 31-year-old, whilst Miranda was sent off for a foul on Belotti shortly after.
Conclusion
Inter Milan’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League campaign have all but been consigned to defeat following this result. After a positive but still tame first half performance, the Nerazzurri put in an extremely inefficient and substandard showing in the second, as they were overrun by the away side and made to look amateurish in defence.
Torino, meanwhile, should now be safe from the threat of relegation after overcoming Inter in their own stomping ground and collecting their fourth away win in the league this season. The strike partnership of Maxi López and Belotti did wonders for the Granata on the day, as well as the hard running displayed in midfield from Ventura’s men. Similar performances to what was on show in the second half may wield similar results in the future for Il Toro.
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