Serie A 2023-24: Ten-man Napoli succumbs to Torino’s charge in 3-0 rampage

Napoli will look to turn things around when it hosts bottom side Salernitana on Saturday, while Torino will hopes to continue its momentum at Genoa.

Torino’s players celebrate their 3-0 win after the Serie A match between Torino and Napoli at the Grande Torino Stadium in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP

Napoli’s Serie A title defence suffered another setback as it lost 3-0 at Torino on Sunday, with strikes by Antonio Sanabria, Nikola Vlasic and Alessandro Buongiorno moving the hosts into the top 10.

With only one win in its last six league games, Napoli fell to ninth in the standings with 28 points, trailing leader Inter Milan by 20 and only one point ahead of Torino at the halfway stage of the season.

The host pounced on the advantage once Napoli was reduced to 10 men when second-half substitute Pasquale Mazzocchi, recently signed from Salernitana, was sent off for a high-boot challenge on Valentino Lazaro just five minutes into his debut.

“It is not the most beautiful victory,” Torino head coach Ivan Juric told  DAZN.

“With the sending-off it all became a bit easier today, but I have experienced many beautiful matches at the helm of Toro.

“Even in Florence (in a 1-0 loss to Florentina) we dominated without being able to win it; today it went well... we had a good match, we have to keep working like this, and the guys have to keep believing in their means.”

Torino’s methodical offensive finally broke through just before halftime when Ivan Ilic’s free kick took a deflection from Duvan Zapata and fell to Sanabria for a quick finish.

“Perfect week with renewal and goals, I am very happy to have extended with this club,” said Sanabria, who signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.

“I felt great here from the first day, the people immediately transmitted their love to me.”

The host doubled its lead early in the second half when Vlasic got the ball from Zapata and dribbled his way into an opening before finding the corner of the net.

Torino sealed its first win over Napoli since 2015 when Lazaro’s corner kick was headed home by Buongiorno, making it 3-0 shortly after the hour mark.

Napoli will look to turn things around when it hosts bottom side Salernitana on Saturday, while Torino will hopes to continue its momentum at Genoa.