Che Adams proved to be the hero for Torino, helping them defeat Atalanta 2-1 in their matchday two Italian Serie A clash.
The Scottish striker scored one and assisted another in a surprise win over Le Dea. The team secured maximum points after Mario Pasalic’s stoppage-time penalty was saved.
The day’s activity began with a protest before kick-off outside the stadium, with thousands of fans calling for President Urbano Cairo to sell the club.
Atalanta recorded the first attack when Valentin Lazaro fired over under pressure from Davide Zappacosta, whom Duvan Zapata sent through. Vanja Milinkovic-Savic made a foot save to deny Ederson from close range.
After springing the offside trap, Mateo Retegui got around the goalkeeper but was pushed wide as his finish was deflected onto the side-netting.
The visitors eventually went into the lead as Retegui opened the scoring with a bullet header in off the underside of the crossbar from the Davide Zappacosta cross.
Torino responded a few minutes late, as Che Adams sent Ivan Ilic through to dink it over the on-rushing goalkeeper in a well-worked team move.
Milinkovic-Savic made another important save when he had his gloves stung by Charles De Ketelaere while Zappacosta blasted the rebound over the bar.
Torino had a huge opportunity in first-half stoppages to turn it around, but Marco Carnesecchi got his timing all wrong while Lazaro floated a cross in for Duvan Zapata’s free header, but Isak Hien made the desperate goal-line clearance.
Within seconds of the restart, Milinkovic-Savic was called into action again with another save on a De Ketelaere finish off the line.
The Granata eventually turned it around with a counter-attack. Ilic rolled across a long Saul Coco ball over the top, forcing Carnesecchi to make a one-handed save on Duvan Zapata, which pushed the ball into the path of impressive Che Adams, who made no mistake from giving the hosts the lead.
La Dea poured forward for an equaliser as Milinkovic-Savic got down for a one-handed save on Ederson’s angled drive. La Dea couldn’t draw level from the resulting corner as the bar denied Retegui, who flicked on the Berat Djimsiti header while Milinkovic-Savic parried the Mario Pasalic follow-up.
The hosts were also looking to end the game, and Zapata put Carnesecchi to work with a sensational save. The goalie also stopped Adams from getting a brave from the rebound.
The frame of goal again denied Atalanta as De Ketelaere’s header bounced off the post while Nicolò Zaniolo also hit the side-netting with a scuffed finish.
After having his penalty appeals turned down because he had handled the ball before Saul Coco committed a foul against him, Zaniolo also accidentally got in the way of Alberto Manzoni’s shot on the Samardzic counter-attack.
Le Dea was given a lifeline to leave Torino with a point deep into stoppages after VAR showed Lazaro’s clumsy sliding tackle got more of Cassa’s shin than the ball. However, Mario Pasalic stepped up and saw his kick saved by Torino hero Milinkovic-Savic.
