At Stadio Artemio Franchi on Saturday night, Fiorentina saw a priceless victory slip away at the death as Torino snatched a 2–2 draw in Serie A’s 24th round. Trailing at half-time and mired in the relegation zone, Paolo Vanoli’s side turned the game around through second-half strikes from Manor Solomon and Moise Kean, only for Guillermo Maripán to level in the 90th minute. The result leaves Fiorentina 18th on 18 points and still in the drop zone, while Torino edge to 27 points and mid-table security.
First-half analysis
The opening 45 minutes followed a clear pattern on the scoreboard, if not in the stats. Torino struck first in the 26' when Cesare Casadei finished a move created by Enis Ilkhan, giving Marco Baroni’s team the early advantage and silencing the home crowd. It was a pivotal moment in a half largely defined by discipline and duels rather than a flurry of clear chances in the event log.
Torino’s aggression soon brought punishment. Valentino Lazaro was booked for a foul in the 31', underlining the visitors’ combative approach down the flank. Fiorentina, chasing the game and under relegation pressure, showed their own frustration when Dodô was cautioned for argument in the 40'. With no further goals or major incidents recorded before the interval, Torino went into half-time 1–0 up, having made their one big moment count while Fiorentina’s response lacked end product.
Second half & tactical shifts
Baroni moved first after the break, making a defensive tweak at 46' as R. Obrador went off and M. Pedersen came on, a like-for-like change at wing-back aimed at shoring up Torino’s left side. Vanoli answered two minutes later, withdrawing creative midfielder Albert Gudmundsson for forward Jack Harrison at 48'. That attacking adjustment proved decisive in swinging the momentum.
Within minutes, Fiorentina’s pressure told. In the 51', Solomon struck the equaliser, finishing a move supplied by Rolando Mandragora. The goal validated Vanoli’s more adventurous posture and re-energised a side fighting for survival. The turnaround was complete by 57', when Kean made it 2–1, converting from close range after Harrison – the early substitute – provided the assist. In the space of six minutes, Fiorentina had flipped the match.
Baroni reacted with a double change on 59', removing Ilkhan and striker Sandro Kulenovic for F. Anjorin and Giovanni Simeone, looking for fresh legs and more attacking thrust. Yet Torino’s growing desperation was reflected in their discipline: Maripán saw yellow for a foul on 64', followed by Luca Marianucci’s booking two minutes later.
Torino pushed further on 69' as Lazaro made way for Zakaria Aboukhlal, a more offensive wing option. Vanoli, defending the lead, adjusted his midfield on 73', taking off Mandragora and M. Brescianini for C. Ndour and G. Fabbian, injecting energy and height in central areas. Baroni’s final throw came on 83', with centre-forward Che Adams replaced by Duván Zapata, a clear attempt to find a late equaliser.
Vanoli then turned to defensive consolidation at 85', removing goalscorers Solomon and Kean for defender L. Ranieri and striker Roberto Piccoli, effectively adding an extra defender while keeping a fresh outlet up front. The closing stages were fractious: Pietro Comuzzo was booked for a foul at 90+3', Aboukhlal followed for a foul at 90+5', and Gvidas Gineitis received a yellow for argument at 90'. Yet amid the chaos, Torino found their lifeline. In that same 90', Maripán, already on a booking, rose to head home from a Gineitis assist, salvaging a dramatic 2–2 draw and crushing Fiorentina’s hopes of a vital win.
Statistical deep dive
The numbers underline Fiorentina’s sense of regret. Vanoli’s side controlled 55% of the ball, completing 502 passes to Torino’s 418, with a slightly higher accuracy (87% vs 84%). That territorial edge translated into sustained pressure: Fiorentina attempted 21 shots to Torino’s 12, with more efforts both inside (14 vs 10) and outside the box.
Yet in terms of pure efficiency, the gap was narrower. Fiorentina hit the target five times, Torino four. Expected goals tell a similar story: Fiorentina’s xG of 1.53 versus Torino’s 0.96 suggests the hosts created the better chances, but not overwhelmingly so. Both goalkeepers recorded modest save counts (two for D. de Gea, three for A. Paleari), indicating that, despite the shot volume, many attempts were either blocked or off target.
Discipline was a major differentiator. Torino committed 23 fouls to Fiorentina’s 6 and collected five yellow cards against the hosts’ two. The high foul count and late bookings for Aboukhlal and Gineitis illustrate how often Torino had to break up play, particularly while chasing the game in the second half.
For Fiorentina, this draw feels more like a defeat. They remain 18th on 18 points with a goal difference of -11, still stuck in the relegation places after 24 games (3 wins, 9 draws, 12 losses). At home, their record now stands at 2 wins, 4 draws and 6 defeats, underlining why they are embroiled in a survival scrap. Torino, by contrast, inch to 27 points and 13th place, with a -18 goal difference. Their away record (3 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses) reflects a side that can dig out results on the road – and Maripán’s late header may prove a key moment in keeping them comfortably above the relegation fight.
