With 3 days to go, Torino has 40 goals conceded in the league. The granata’s defense has crumbled and is no longer convincing
“Offense wins games, defense wins championships” is a phrase that divides insiders and fans alike. What is certain is that a solid defense gives greater assurance to the entire team. For large stretches of the 2024/2025 season, Toro’s rearguard proved reliable. The 3-man defense has been less convincing than the 4-man module, with the Coco-Maripan pair preserving Vanja Milinkovic-Savic’s goal. The goalkeeper avoided the worst on several occasions. The Serbian parried 4 penalties, saving his team.
As the days have gone by, however, Torino’s defense has slowly crumbled. In the last 10 league games, the granata have conceded nine goals. Narrowing the circle increases the concern. In the past 5 days, Coco and his teammates have conceded 5 goals. Milinkovic-Savic has been chasing his own record of clean sheets in a granata jersey, a goal blurred by the many balls collected in the back of his goal in recent times. The goal scored by Venezia on the last league day is a demonstration of the fragility of the granata rearguard. An immobile defense and Vanja not very responsive allowed the Veneti to score the goal that earned a very precious point at the Olimpico Grande Torino for the salvation race of Oristanio and his teammates.
Toro, poche partite senza gol subiti
With 3 days left in the league, Paolo Vanoli’s Torino has conceded 40 goals. The granata have the ninth best defense in Serie A. Not a bad result. However, Toro has shown little consistency in the defensive department.
On only 2 occasions did the granata finish at least 2 consecutive matches with an unbeaten net. The periods date back to September, between the 15th and 20th, in matches against Venezia (0-1) and Lecce (0-0). The defense’s second positive moment was again marked by a draw and a win: 0-0 against Genoa on December 7 and 0-1 at Empoli on the 13th of the same month.
L’assenza di Buongiorno pesa
Paolo Vanoli’s Torino failed to reiterate last season’s excellent defensive numbers. In the 2023/2024 Serie A, the granata conceded 36 goals. Vanja and his teammates were the fourth best defense of the season.
Alessandro Buongiorno’s presence has been a determining factor. The former captain is an excellent guardian of the defense, and the current season’s numbers for Toro and Napoli prove it. The Azzurri boast the best defense in Europe, with just 25 goals conceded in 35 league games.
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic of Torino FC looks on prior to the Serie A football match between Torino FC and Venezia FC.
