Speaking for the stricken Ivan Juric, Torino assistant coach Mateo Paro made it clear to the press in the build up that he was optimistic about Il Toro’s chances following Inter’s torrid week, which saw the 19-time Serie A champions taste defeat at the hands of their bitter rivals AC Milan, followed by a UEFA Champions League loss against Bayern Munich in midweek.
Following those potentially morale damaging defeats, Inter nearly got off to a flying start in the early minutes, but Lautaro Martinez was unable to keep his lofted curling effort from the edge of the box down.
As the first half progressed, Nikola Vlasic forced a fine save out of Samir Handanovic for Torino, but neither side appeared willing to take any risks to break the deadlock in a closely contested encounter.
In contrast to the first 45 minutes, the second half immediately came to life. In the opening minute, Antonio Sanabria’s powerful header inside the area was tipped away by the veteran Slovenian goalkeeper Handanovic, before Paraguayan international Sanabria was shown a red card shortly after, though the booking was changed to a yellow card following a VAR check.
See stats from the match at Flashscore
Even after a flurry of substitutions and tactical alterations, the game remained on a knife-edge right until the death, with Handanović and Vanja Milinkovic-Savic both proving immovable at either end.
But Inter haven’t forgotten what it will take to regain their lost crown, and Brozovic snatched the points, getting on the end of an inch-perfect cross from Nicolo Barella, before expertly converting past Milinkovic-Savic.
The result means Paro’s gut feeling was incorrect, as Torino came away without any points, while Inter recorded a seventh successive Serie A victory on home soil, in a rich run going back to April that now includes four clean sheets.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Samir Handanovic (Inter Milan)
