Torino outlasted Genoa in the opening match of Round 9. The fixture ended with a high score despite the slow rhythm due to the sloppiness of the two defenses. The Granata earned a two-goal lead twice, but the guests kept coming back. However, they could not finish the job. They have not been successful in five games.
Ivan Juric fielded Alessandro Buongiorno and Cristian Ansaldi for Ricardo Rodriguez and Ola Aina. Tommaso Pobega filled in for the injured Rolando Mandragora while Antonio Sanabria started over Andrea Belotti. Instead, Davide Ballardini went with an aggressive 4-2-3-1. Paolo Ghiglione and Mohamed Fares manned the defensive flanks, with Caleb Ekuban and Andrea Cambiaso in front of them. Stefano Sturaro relieved Milan Badelj.
Torino took command from the initial whistle. They bagged an early goal with a crafty header by Sanabria on a pinpoint cross by Ansaldi. They easily kept Genoa in check throughout the first half and found the target again before intermission. The Granata recovered the ball near midfield, Sanabria dished it to Pobega in the box, and the midfield put it past Salvatore Sirigu.
Ballardini deployed Yayah Kallon and Pablo Galdames at half-time for Ghiglione and Abdoulaye Touré, tilting the scheme to a 4-3-3. However, as he is one to do, the most impactful sub was Felipe Caicedo, who came in later on and found Destro with a sweet through pass to set up an easy finish at the 69th minute.
Torino sensed the danger and accelerated again. Dennis Praet escaped down the right flank and connected with a wide-open Josip Brekalo in the six-yard box. But Genoa did not stop fighting. Caicedo hit the net with ten minutes to go in a similar action, with Kallon as the assist-man. However, the final attempts of the Rossoblù were fruitless.