Torino 1–3 Como: Nico Paz Turns Leads The Comeback

The final score makes this look more comfortable than it was.

Como were still behind with ten minutes of normal time remaining, and Torino had created enough opportunities to make their lead larger. Then Jacobo Ramón equalised, Nico Paz put us ahead and Martin Baturina finished the job in stoppage time. Three goals between the 81st and 92nd minutes turned a frustrating evening into a fourth consecutive victory.

There is plenty to admire in that response, particularly at the end of four matches in ten days. There is also plenty to examine before we decide the comeback was inevitable. Como controlled the ball for long stretches, but Robert Sánchez had to keep the deficit manageable before the attacking quality finally settled the match.

Torino made Como work for their possession

Douvikas had an early goal disallowed for offside, but Torino soon demonstrated why they had arrived on a run of three league wins. Their 3-5-2 gave them two forwards to threaten the defence, with runners and passing options behind them. Ché Adams opened the scoring midway through the first half after receiving from Kian Fitz-Jim.

Abate’s post-match explanation is useful here. In comments reported by Football Italia and syndicated by Yahoo, he said Torino had deliberately defended deeper against Como’s quality. His frustration concerned their inability to retain the ball and escape the pressure often enough, despite having chances to extend the lead.

That is the tension which defined the game. Torino were prepared to concede territory, but every unsuccessful attempt to play out invited another Como attack. For Fàbregas’s side, the task was to make that territorial advantage produce better opportunities without allowing the next transition to end the contest.

The numbers explain both the pressure and the danger

Sky’s match statistics give Como 72.5% possession and an 18–11 advantage in shots. Shots on target, however, finished level at five each.

Those numbers belong together. The possession figure describes how much of the game Como spent with the ball; it does not establish how safely they controlled it. Torino made enough of their limited possession to require serious interventions from the goalkeeper.

It would also be a mistake to read the three late goals backwards and conclude that Torino were always bound to concede. Como had to keep creating opportunities, and then execute them under increasing time pressure. The result rewards that persistence, but the earlier difficulties remain part of the performance.

Sánchez kept the route back open

Sánchez’s contribution deserves to sit near the top of any assessment. Starting in place of Butez, he denied Belghali and Vlašić before the break, then produced another important save from Giovanni Simeone’s header in the second half. The Lega Serie A report makes clear how significant those chances were.

At 1–0, one successful attack could still change Como’s evening. A second Torino goal would have made the task substantially harder, particularly with fatigue accumulating and the attacking options already reduced by injuries. Sánchez preserved the circumstances in which the late surge could win the match.

This is also an important contribution to the squad-depth discussion. Rotation in goal carries its own demands: a keeper can spend long periods watching his team attack and still be required to make a decisive save. Sánchez supplied that intervention when Como needed it.

Fàbregas changed the options, then had to change again

Baturina and Jayden Addai entered around the hour mark for Caqueret and Perrone. Kaiki subsequently replaced Valle, before Ricci and Smolčić came on for Addai and Milla in the 78th minute. The official team sheet records a substantial reshuffling while Como were still chasing the equaliser.

Baturina offered an immediate reason to keep believing, hitting the crossbar before eventually scoring the third. His involvement gave Como another player capable of threatening the goal rather than leaving all the decisive work to Nico.

Addai’s departure was the unwelcome complication. He had been on for only about 20 minutes when discomfort forced another change. Gazzetta’s initial report described a suspected muscular problem, with the nature and extent still awaiting assessment. There is no confirmed recovery timetable to attach to it.

That matters beyond this result. Como found another way to win, but the available attacking group has suffered another interruption just as Addai was beginning to build minutes.

Two headers changed everything

Ramón’s equaliser arrived in the 81st minute, heading in Nico’s delivery. Six minutes later, the roles changed: Nico became the target, heading home Yan Couto’s cross. Baturina then completed the turnaround in the second minute of stoppage time.

For me, the important tactical detail is the variety in those first two goals. Nico first supplied the ball into the box, then attacked a delivery himself. Como’s most influential creator also became the player finishing the move, giving Torino a different problem to solve.

Ramón’s involvement was equally valuable. A centre-back committing to the attacking area can give a deep defence another runner to account for, provided the delivery finds him. Here it did, and the goal changed what the remaining minutes could mean. Como continued looking for the winner rather than allowing the relief of equalising to end their ambition.

The club’s report records 554 travelling supporters. They had waited a long time for a goal and received three in a little over ten minutes. It was an excellent return for their patience.

Twenty points, with lessons still worth keeping

Fàbregas praised his players’ patience and maturity afterwards, stressing the difficulty of responding in the fourth match of such a compressed run. He also acknowledged the shrinking choice of wide attackers following Addai’s injury, as reported by Tuttomercatoweb.

Both observations fit the evening. Como maintained enough attacking purpose to win late, but needed their goalkeeper and several adjustments to get there. That is a stronger performance than a simple claim of possession dominance would suggest, because it required responses to problems that never entirely disappeared.

Twenty points from nine league matches is an excellent position to take into Sunday’s meeting with Venezia. The immediate priority is to recover players and energy while preserving what worked here: the willingness to keep moving, keep supplying the box and keep taking responsibility when the match was slipping away. Nico delivered the decisive moments, and Sánchez made sure they still mattered.