The Simone Zaza show
You might remember Simone Zaza for his ludicrously bad penalty run up at Euro 2016, when he brought shame upon Italy by tip-toeing up to a crucial spot kick only to send the ball into another stratosphere. Or maybe you know Simone Zaza best for his his comically bad spell at West Ham, where he played just eight league games, scoring no goals.
While those events did happen, the striker has come up with moments of magic throughout his career and Wednesday’s five goal thriller was one of them. Having gone 2-0 down to his former club Sassuolo, Zaza was instrumental in Torino’s spectacular 15-minute comeback on Wednesday afternoon.
Domenico Berardi gave Sassuolo a two goal cushion with a first half brace, but as the cliché goes, 2-0 is the dangerous scoreline in football (it definitely isn’t, but it was here.)
The hosts clawed their way back into the game, recording more shots and shots on target than their visitors despite having the slightly smaller share of possession, with a right footed finish from Zaza kickstarting the comeback in the 77th minute.
Nine minutes later and Rolando Mandragora took advantage of a weak palm from Andrea Consigli to tap home the equaliser. Sassuolo were evidently shaken and could not hold back the tide as Simone Zaza buried a late header to secure all three points for Torino.
Not one man was left on the Torino bench as Zaza was mobbed by his adoring teammates, though he remained calm, having made his name at Sassuolo between 2013-2015.
This result lifts Torino out of the relegation zone, with a game in hand on their fellow strugglers.
75 minutes: Torino 0-2 Sassuolo 😬
92 minutes: Torino 3-2 Sassuolo 🤩
Simone Zaza to the rescue! 🔥
🎥 @PremierSportsTV pic.twitter.com/oMVq4mi8ho
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) March 17, 2021
