Josip Brekalo’s fantastic early strike proved enough for Ivan Juric’s Torino to stun Hellas Verona and push them all the way for ninth place.
Granata coach Ivan Juric faced his past in this head-to-head for ninth place. Marco Davide Faraoni and Wilfried Singo both sat out bans, with Antonin Barak, Antonio Sanabria and Alessandro Buongiorno injured.
Gianluca Caprari forced Etrit Berisha into a save with his legs at the near post, but Torino took the lead with a sensational strike. Josip Brekalo went down the left, cut inside past a defender and smashed a right-foot finish in off the underside of the crossbar from a tricky angle.
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Darko Lazovic tested Berisha twice, once at the back post and again with a ferocious but central strike.
Toro had a big chance straight after the restart, Lorenzo Montipò with the save on Andrea Belotti’s header and the David Zima follow-up, even if the defender was offside.
Pietro Pellegri thought he’d made it 2-0 late on after coming off the bench, but his strike from the edge of the box only thumped the upright.
Verona 0-1 Torino
Brekalo 19 (T)
