Serie A 21/22: Torino 1-2 Venezia

“We have to imagine that the championship begins from Turin,” Mattia Aramu had said in midweek.

After a loss to Napoli last weekend, Venezia were at 10 consecutive Serie A matches without a win. It was always understood that this was a brutal stretch of the season — with six matches against the current top five over those 10 rounds. But regardless of the context, it would be near impossible for such a run not to have a psychological impact on the squad. Meanwhile, Venezia had now dipped into the drop zone for the first time in months, adding weight to the moment.

Simply put, Venezia were a desperate team, and with a relatively kinder calendar in front of them for the final 14 rounds, the time was now to get a result by hook or by crook — starting with Saturday night’s match at Torino.

So, when Torino took the lead inside five minutes, it felt like a gut punch.

After halting Marko Pjaca’s bursting run through the lines, Venezia failed to clear the ball away cleanly on two occasions, which allowed Wilfried Singo to set up Josip Brekalo on the edge of the penalty box for a wicked half-volley that left ‘keeper Luca Lezzerini with little chance, and Torino were in front early.

After the goal, the shock and disappointment was evident. While Torino — who had the second-best home record in the league — aggressively pressed on for a second goal, attacking with overloads on Venezia’s right flank as Pjaca, Mërgim Vojvoda, and Tommaso Pobega combined to threatening effect, Venezia were unable to stem the tide and move the ball forward.

As this carried on for 20 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, Venezia seemed lost, and one could have easily wondered not only if it wasn’t Venezia’s night, but perhaps not Venezia’s year.

But through Venezia’s challenging first season back in Serie A in two decades, one constant source of stability has been manager Paolo Zanetti’s poise, bravery, and tactical acumen. And on Saturday night, with their backs to the wall, Zanetti would make a subtle mid-game tactical change that gave his team a foothold.

After starting the match in a 4-3-1-2, Zanetti switched to a three-man defense and mirrored Torino’s 3-4-2-1. In shifting Ethan Ampadu as a right-sided center-back and Domen Črnigoj as a right-wingback in support, Venezia forced Torino’s midfield double pivot of Pobega and Karol Linetty to keep playing the ball sideways and into less threatening areas.

As pressure eased, Venezia started venturing forward. And in the 38th minute, they were suddenly back on level terms.

After winning the ball, midfielder Michaël Cuisance pinged a firm low pass up the middle of the pitch for striker David Okereke, with Črnigoj bursting into space down the right wing, intelligently taking advantage of Torino’s overcommitment with their own wingbacks. On the turn, Okereke played a well-weighted through ball to Črnigoj, and the Slovenian international arrived to play a first-time cross from the byline. At the back post to apply a cushioned header down and in was Ridgeciano Haps, who was pushed even further forward as the left-wingback under Zanetti’s mid-game adjustment.

With their first genuine attack forward, Venezia had grabbed a lifeline back into the match.

“We really have to thank the manager for having understood immediately how to overturn the game with the three-man defense,” Črnigoj would say after the match. “Equalizing made us regain courage.”

Venezia would close out the first half at 1-1. And just 22 seconds into the second half, they would take the lead.

From a Haps throw-in on the left side, Aramu ghosted into space near the byline and with his prodigious left foot produced a defense-splitting cutback cross to an on-running Črnigoj near the top of the box. Črnigoj, moving right to left, met the ball first-time on his weaker left foot, but the shot was anything but weak, as it rocketed off his laces and into the top left corner at the near post. With that, Venezia were reborn.

As Venezia settled into their new shape, Torino’s attack was shut down, and the run of play became more compact. Ultimately, Venezia would finish with more tackles and duels won on the night, underscoring how their man-on-man defending and tactical adjustments helped save the match.

In the 71st minute, Torino manager Ivan Jurić made a quadruple substitution, most notably bringing on Andrea Belotti, and the Italian international striker would be the target of their attacking play for the rest of the match.

Meanwhile, Zanetti had already brought on Tanner Tessmann, who replaced the yellow-carded Gianluca Busio, and whereas Busio was stellar in the first half, Tessmann was the same in the second half. Later on, Zanetti introduced Luca Fiordilino and Dor Peretz, adding physicality and tightening the screws in midfield.

Late in the game, Venezia’s comeback was nearly spoiled, when Belotti headed home a 90th minute free-kick, temporarily bringing the scoreline to 2-2, but after an agonizing four-minute VAR check, the play was ruled offside.

In the 98th minute, Okereke was sent off for a challenge gone wrong, and Venezia had to dig in their heels and maintain their focus for a few minutes more while down a man.

After a few clutch clearances, the full-time whistle finally blew, giving Venezia their biggest win of the season, against a side that had only lost to Atalanta and Juventus at home this season.

Rising out of the relegation zone, Venezia will look to carry the momentum into next weekend, when they host Genoa at Stadio Penzo in a critical relegation six-pointer.

Torino 1-2 Venezia
Scorers: Brekalo 5’, Haps 38’, Črnigoj 46’

Torino (3-4-2-1): Milinković-Savić, Djidji (Zima 71’), Brenner, Rodriguez, Singo (Ansaldi 72’), Linetty, Pobega, Vojvoda (Zaza 86’), Brekalo, Pjaca (Warming 71’), Sanabria (Belotti 71’)
Subs not used: Berisha, Izzo, Seck, Ricci, Aina, Gemello, Buongiorno
Coach: Ivan Jurić

Venezia (4-3-1-2): Lezzerini, Ampadu, Svoboda, Caldara, Haps, Črnigoj, Busio (Tessmann 55’), Cuisance (Fiordilino 72’), Aramu (Peretz 78’), Okereke, Henry (Nsame 78’)
Subs not used: Mäenpää, Modolo, Molinaro, Ullmann, Pálsson, Nani, Johnsen
Coach: Paolo Zanetti