De Vrij is able to get a header in, but the half-chance is safely gathered by Sirigu.
90' +2
Brozovic takes down Berenguer in his own half, visibly annoyed at the turn of events that have transpired at the Olimpico Grande.
90'
Five minutes of added time has been confirmed by the fourth official.
89'
Iago Falqué enters the game and replaces S. Zaza.
The hard-working Zaza earns a standing ovation from the Torino faithful as he comes off for Falque in Mazzarri’s last substitution of the game.
Falque immediately wins a corner after his shot is deflected out of play. The set-piece is cleared, but Torino regain the ball with Rincon attempting to conjure something up in these final moments. However, Inter get the goal kick.
86'
M. Politano goes off after a red card!
RED CARD FOR INTER! Aina holds his hands up once Politano goes down after the slightest of touches, and the Inter substitute is sent off for dissent! He protests the decision not to award a free-kick at referee Maresca, but the situation ends with him being led down the tunnel. Torino are now a goal and a man up!
84'
S. Zaza gets yellow.
Zaza reacts angrily to getting booked for bringing down Dalbert with the latter running with the ball. Both sides now have three bookings apiece.
83'
A. Candreva enters the game and replaces M. Vecino.
Spalletti throws on Candevra in Vecino’s place for his final change of the match.
81'
Álex Berenguer enters the game and replaces C. Ansaldi.
Ansaldi gets a well-earned rest after another excellent midfield display, and Berenguer comes on in his place to bring fresh legs to a tiring Torino midfield.
80'
The corner count keeps racking up for Inter, but their fourth in the last ten minutes is calmly collected by a leaping Sirigu.
Minute
Description
78'
D. Baselli enters the game and replaces S. Lukić.
Lukic, who has been tidy in possession throughout this contest, comes off for Italy midfielder Baselli in Mazzarri’s first change of the match.
76'
O. Aina gets yellow.
Aina unnecessarily charges at D’Ambrosio out on the wing, resulting in the winger getting his first booking of the match and Torino’s second.
72'
Politano tries to get past Aina and whips in a low delivery that the Torino defence head away. Izzo, Djidji and Nkoulou have been brilliant at the back so far, keeping Icardi and his teammates quieter than expected.
71'
M. Politano enters the game and replaces João Mário.
Joao Mario, who has cut a frustrated figure throughout thanks to Rincon and Ansaldi’s dominant midfield displays, is hooked off for Politano in Spalletti’s second throw of the dice.
69'
In his first contribution since coming on, Nainggolan pulls the trigger and lets fly with a trademark long-range shot only for the chance to go high over Handanovic’s goal.
68'
Another incisive Torino attack sees Zaza and Belotti combine with a quick exchange before the latter tries to take on the Inter defence by himself, only to be stopped by Dalbert before he can play in a teammate.
67'
Aina is able to whip in a dangerous ball across the Inter box, but Skriniar is able to head it away. Inter have regressed since the interval, while their opponents have gone from strength to strength in this contest.
62'
Another Torino break sees Zaza being played in by a charging Izzo before the Granata forward takes a shot that De Vrij is able to block at the last minute for another home corner. The set-piece is emphatically cleared away, but play stops for De Silvestri to get treatment.
58'
Torino venture forward once again with Aina looking to beat Dalbert in a one-on-one, but he instead cuts in and rifles a wild shot that swerves well wide of Handanovic’s goal.
55'
D. D'Ambrosio gets yellow.
A tactical, yet blatant foul by D’Ambrosio stops Aina in his tracks, and earns the Inter wing-back a yellow card - his side’s third of the match so far.
54'
R. Nainggolan enters the game and replaces Miranda.
In need of more guile and creativity in the midfield, Mazzarri hooks Miranda off and sends Nainggolan on the pitch for his first substitution of the match.
53'
Ansaldi and Belotti combine once more, the former galloping towards goal and playing in the latter only for the shot to go straight at Handanovic.
50'
Ansaldi’s floating free-kick meets the head of a towering Belotti, but his effort bounces once before going wide for an Inter goal kick.
47'
Maresca stops play for Nkoulou to receive treatment after the Torino midfielder receives a wild clearance straight to his head by his teammate and centre-back partner Djidji. He should be okay to continue, though.
46'
No changes to either side at the interval as the hosts look to maintain their slender lead against their opponents.
Inter get play restarted as the second half gets underway!
45' +4
HALF-TIME: TORINO 1-0 INTER
45' +2
Dalbert gets yellow.
Brozovic loses his cool after getting challenged by Ansaldi, and he is swarmed by a sea of maroon and white, with both sets of players crowding around the touchline area. After some discussion, Dalbert ends up getting booked for an earlier foul on Ansaldi before the mini-fracas. Spalletti also has a go at Brozovic, mainly due to the overreaction by the Croatia midfielder.
45'
Three minutes of added time has been confirmed by the fourth official.
40'
De Vrij looks to have brought down Belotti once more, almost certainly warranting him another yellow and a first-half dismissal, but Maresca instead books the Torino forward for simulation.
39'
A. Belotti gets yellow.
36'
Almost immediately after conceding, Brozovic attempts to curl the ball past Sirigu to equalise, but the attempt is high and wide of the Torino goal.
35'
A. Izzo has scored a goal for Torino! Assist by C. Ansaldi.
GOOOOAAALLLL!!! TORINO GET A DESERVED LEAD!! Handanovic can only watch the ball loop over him as Izzo leaps higher than D’Ambrosio to meet Ansaldi’s high corner! 1-0 to the Granata, who have looked more dangerous with each passing attack!
Ansaldi gets the assist he deserves after a tirelessly combative first-half display in the centre of midfield.
31'
S. de Vrij gets yellow.
Belotti stays down clutching his throat after De Vrij’s blatant obstruction on the forward during a Torino counter-attack. The Netherlands centre-back becomes the first player booked as Belotti gets back up.
29'
Torino break once more with Belotti leading the charge, but Brozovic and Vecino combine to stop the Italy forward before the ball goes out of play for a home throw-in.
25'
Good defending by the Nerazzurri there, as Miranda is able to block Zaza’s shot with a sliding challenge after the forward is played in by Belotti with a cute through-ball.
24'
A visibly frustrated Brozovic concedes an unnecessary foul by tripping Izzo out on the wing, granting Torino another chance with a set-piece. Lukic’s delivery is headed away though, and Inter regain possession.
22'
Ansaldi is given the freedom of the pitch to run towards goal before letting loose with a wild strike that sails over Handanovic’s bar.
19'
Sirigu makes a second successive save to deny an Inter player from outside the area - this time, Icardi gets a shot on target that the ex-Paris Saint-Germain stopper beats away before his defence is able to clear. The Nerazzurri are slowly marking their stamp on this match as the minutes go by.
17'
D’Ambrosio tests Sirigu with a stinging shot after taking advantage of Djidji’s hesitation following Martinez’s cross, but the Torino keeper gets low and safely catches the ball.
15'
Ansaldi finds Belotti out on the wing as Torino attempt a counter of their own following an Inter corner, but they are unable to make anything of it as Skriniar clears any danger away.
13'
Rincon makes a fantastic challenge near the Torino byline to dispossess Joao Mario. The Granata look well up for this, with Zaza and Rincon himself constantly chasing and harrying their opponents.
12'
Aina is caught asleep by D’Ambrosio and the Inter wing-back attempts to play in Icardi with a low cross, but the forward is flagged for offside just as the ball was taken away from him.
10'
The Inter defence, who have been looking a bit nervy in these opening minutes, once again give the ball away in a dangerous position. Fortunately for them, the Torino attack are unable to make any headway with the chance and De Vrij is able to clear the ball safely this time.
8'
A look of concern spreads across the faces of the Nerazzurri players as Skriniar stays down in agony after getting clipped from behind by Lukic. The Torino midfielder gets a talking-to from referee Maresca as the Inter defender gets back up to his teammates’ relief.
4'
Miranda cheaply gives the ball away in a poor position, forcing Dalbert to foul Belotti out on the right-wing. Ansaldi manages to whip a cross into the box and De Silvestri is able to get a head on it, but Handanovic is alert and safely gathers the ball.
2'
Handanovic is forced to come out of his box to head the ball away from an onrushing Zaza, but the latter is flagged for offside just as the Inter goalkeeper makes contact with his head.
1'
The hosts are decked out in their usual colours of all-maroon, while the visitors are sporting their away kit in all-white.
Referee Fabio Maresca blows his whistle, and Torino get us underway at the Olimpico Grande!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of this Serie A match as Torino host Inter at the Olimpico Grande!
12th-place Torino are currently on a mediocre run of just one win in their last five fixtures in all competitions, including elimination from the Coppa Italia at the hands of Fiorentina and coming back from 2-0 down against Roma last weekend only to concede a third and eventually lose the match. Despite their inconsistent form, their opponents have only won one of their last six league matches against them, giving Walter Mazzarri’s men some encouragement heading into this fixture.
Last Saturday’s goalless draw against Sassuolo saw the San Siro faithful frustrated at third-place Inter’s inability to convert a host of chances that came their way. With Napoli being held to a stalemate at Milan yesterday, Luciano Spalletti’s charges will see this match as a good chance to close the eight-point gap between themselves and the Partenopei and maintain their quest for automatic Champions League qualification.
INTER XI (3-4-1-2): Samir Handanovic; Stefan de Vrij, Miranda, Milan Skriniar; Danilo D'Ambrosio, Marcelo Brozovic, Matias Vecino, Dalbert; Joao Mario; Mauro Icardi (c), Lautaro Martinez.
SUBSTITUTES: Salvador Ichazo, Antonio Rosati, Emiliano Moretti, Bremer, Lyanco, Daniele Baselli, Simone Edera, Alex Berenguer, Iago Falque, Vincenzo Millico, Vittorio Parigini.
TORINO XI (3-5-2): Salvatore Sirigu; Armando Izzo, Koffi Djidji, Nicolas Nkoulou; Lorenzo De Silvestri, Cristian Ansaldi, Tomas Rincon, Sasa Lukic, Ola Aina; Simone Zaza, Andrea Belotti (c).
With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, let’s take a look at how both sides line up, starting with the hosts.
SUBSTITUTES: Daniele Padelli, Kwadwo Asamoah, Andrea Ranocchia, Antonio Candreva, Roberto Gagliardini, Radja Nainggolan, Ivan Perisic, Borja Valero, Matteo Politano.
The players are out and kick-off is drawing near.
After a good start to the match, Spalletti’s charges faded with each passing minute as their midfield and defence were constantly swarmed by Torino’s frantic forays into the Nerazzurri half. Their three-man defence hasn’t been their usual solid selves, while Brozovic and Vecino have struggled to stamp any authority in the middle of the park. Improvements must be made for the second half if Icardi and company are to stand a chance of getting something at the Olimpico Grande.
Mazzarri will be pleased with his side’s first-half efforts as they take a richly-deserved 1-0 lead against their more illustrious opponents. Buoyed by the nonstop harrying and ball-chasing by Zaza and the winger-turned-central-midfielder Ansaldi, the Granata have been able to lessen the time Inter’s players have on the ball, greatly impacting the visitors’ display as the half wore on. They will need to remain sharp and focused after the interval though, as Inter have shown a habit of nicking points late on in matches already this season.
Both sides return to more Serie A action next Sunday, as Torino travel to face SPAL while Inter host Bologna - although the latter have the small matter of a midweek Coppa Italia quarter-final against Lazio to attend to beforehand.
And that wraps up our coverage. We hope you enjoyed our commentary, and until next time, goodbye!
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