A tricky opening to Serie A had been navigated with mixed fortunes as Lorenzo Bonino’s first five games in charge of Torino Football Club delivered two wins, a draw with city rivals Juventus and expected defeats to Inter and Lazio. An international break gave him a chance to get some key players back fit and work on embedding his narrow 4-3-3 approach into the squad.
The tricky opening fixtures continued with a trip to Bologna, who finished 8th last season but were currently bottom of the league. The hosts obviously scored their first shot, but a brace from the in-form Lithuanian midfielder Gvidas Gineitis earned Torino a point. Just as goalkeeper Lucas Perri returned to fitness, he managed to break a finger in training to miss another five weeks. The Torino fans endured a dire first half at home to Sassuolo, but a stern team talk delivered a response as promising left back Alessio Cacciamani crossed for Nikola Vlasic to tap in the opener 30 seconds into the second half. However, they again conceded a late, deserved equaliser, which took them five games without a win. And it didn’t get much easier with a trip to 2025 champions Napoli, but yet another formation change to a 4-2-3-1 worked nicely as Rolando Mandragora’s first of the season earned yet another draw.
Simeone returned from his third injury in three months to latch onto a superb Gineitis throughball and open the scoring at home to struggling Genoa. Left back Niccoló Fortini, on loan from Fiorentina, doubled the lead with a magnificent 25-yard half volley and, despite giving up 60% of possession, Torino won for the first time in six matches. A very similar story followed at Udinese, who were 4th in the league, as Torino conceded 56% of possession but a breakaway Giovanni Simeone goal nicked a 1-0 win.
After 10 games, Bonino’s side sat in an impressive 7th place. A few days on from the win at Udinese, the manager met up with board advisor Gianluigi Lentini, who was fresh from a tour of South America promoting the Torino brand. “I have to say, Signore Cairo is delighted with the start you’ve made. We were a bit concerned when we saw the fixture schedule, but you’ve navigated it very nicely. So el Presidente wanted us to meet up and check you had everything you needed and the players were on board with things.” The duo chatted all things football – included laughing about seeing city rivals Juventus sitting in 16th place, marvelling at the stellar form of Roma and Como, strong starts by Aberdeen and Lens, and the struggles of Liverpool, Newcastle and Sunderland in England before parting ways.
A week later, Juventus sacked Luciano Spalletti with the club lingering in 17th place after 11 games, and replaced him with Arne Slot. Ruben Amorim was also on the brink with Milan sitting 14th, and his case wasn’t aided by Torino going to the San Siro and winning 3-1 led by a brilliant Gineitis brace. Leaders Roma were up next and Cesare Casadei was inches wide with a rasping drive before Vlasic and Simeone combined in a lethal counter attack. Cristante’s wonderstrike deservedly dragged Roma level, but Torino claimed a huge scalp as a wonderful saw Emirhan Ílkhan pick out fellow substitute Kian Fitz-Jim, who curled a delicious 20-yarder around Svilar.
Another slew of injuries followed and an unbeaten run ended with a 3-1 loss at Venezia, while another Juve defeat at home to Lazio sent them bottom of the league! That was followed by another defeat, 1-0 at leaders Como courtesy of Nico Paz, who’s currently the best player in the league. However, they ended 2026 in style as Vlasic laid on goals for Mondragora and Simeone before scoring himself to put them 3-0 up on Lecce, who annoyingly scored twice late on.
That lifted Torino into a mightily impressive 4th place after 16 games heading into a three-week break. So far, they’d won 7, drawn 5 and lost 4, and trailed still unbeaten leaders Como by 7 points, while city rivals Juventus still occupied the relegation zone!
Things were going well in the early stages at Torino, and Bonino couldn’t help but delight himself in the ongoing struggles of Juventus. But could he continue to bring good times to Turin? Join us next time to find out!
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