With seventh place and potential European football still within Torino’s reach, they could ill afford a slip-up against a struggling Lecce side.
Their foot was firmly to the floor in the opening stages here and Torino reaped the rewards of their early pressure midway through the first half when Aleksei Miranchuk’s teasing delivery was thundered home at the far post by Wilfried Singo who netted just his second Serie A goal of the season.
There was no letup from the visitors even after opening the scoring and despite Lecce pushing hard in search of an instant response, they were hit on the counter when Nemanja Radonjic did the leg work down the left before laying the ball on a plate for Antonio Sanabria to double Torino’s advantage.
This was certainly a hotly contested clash, and the game reached boiling point shortly after the half-hour mark, with an Ivan Ilic challenge sparking a touchline brawl which resulted in a red card apiece for the two side’s coaching staff.
For a side fast becoming desperate for a goal to get back into the game, Lecce were creating precious little by way of goalscoring opportunities.
A desperate shout for a penalty from Lorenzo Colombo under a challenge from Alessandro Buongiorno somewhat summed up where Lecce thought their way back into the game was going to come from, but both the referee and VAR agreed they didn’t have a case for a spot-kick.
Valentin Gendrey’s effort from the edge of the box that almost went into orbit just about summed up a dismal afternoon for Lecce, but with a nine-point gap to the drop zone, they don’t have to worry about falling through the Serie A trap door just yet.
As for Torino, their victory was comfortable and they kept pace with their fellow European chasers, perhaps even with half an eye on sixth spot after Atalanta’s defeat yesterday.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nemanja Radonjic (Torino)
