Chants of Il Vecchio Cuore Granata reverberated at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino, as the hosts took inspiration and unleashed early half-chances at Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski.
In what turned out to be a tale of poor positioning, Torino were met with the misfortune of seeing Karamoh regrettably block Aleksey Miranchuk’s low drive that would have seen the back of the net, before the Ivorian almost instantly made amends for his error.
The forward mesmerised the Rossoblu backline with intricate footwork inside the box before burying the ball into the bottom corner.
Bologna tried turning the tide in their favour by focusing on breaking the lines, but Ivan Juric’s man-marking system proved much too difficult for the visitors to overcome before halftime, prompting Thiago Motta to ponder a potential change in tactics going forward.
The hosts stuck to their guns with the onset of the second period, almost doubling their lead through Karamoh once again, whose header following a free-kick glanced past the left post.
However, Motta’s men gradually took charge of proceedings but failed to penetrate the cohesive Granata defence until Riccardo Orsolini pierced through, only to see his effort blocked by a spirited stopper.
Perhaps sensing an incoming threat, Juric then executed a trio of substitutions on the verge of the final quarter-hour, which helped his side see out the remaining minutes and defend their lead despite Bologna’s mounting pressure.
A first defeat in four away games eliminated any hopes of the Rossoblu matching their record five-game away win streak set back in 1964. They also failed to close the gap to the top six, and still find themselves seven adrift of Atalanta who take up the nearest European spot.
Torino are now up to ninth in Serie A and just a point behind Bologna.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Perr Schuurs (Torino)
