Joe the Hart-breaker
Torino keeper spoils Totti’s party, Lazio join scudetto chase
MILAN: England goalkeeper Joe Hart upset the upcoming birthday celebrations of Francesco Totti in a 3-1 win for Torino over AS Roma as rivals Lazio brazenly joined the scudetto race.
Ousted from Manchester City by Pep Guardiola last month, Hart joined unfashionable Serie A side Torino in a bid to maintain his status as England’s No. 1 shot-stopper.
Having kept “Granata” fans guessing during a few nervous displays in recent weeks, the on-loan City goalkeeper was rock solid throughout at Torino’s Stadio Olimpico where the only blot on his report card was Totti’s 55th minute penalty for the visitors.
It marked Totti’s 250th goal in Serie A, but plans to count a Roma win among his 40th birthday presents tomorrow were dashed by a defeat that moved Torino up to midtable, and left Luciano Spalletti’s Roma five points behind leaders Juventus.
Roma were looking to reply to Juventus’ cagey 1-0 win at Palermo on Saturday.
But Andrea Belotti headed an eighth-minute opener past Wojciech Szczesny, and at the other end Hart was on fire.
He was out smartly early on to steal the ball from Edin Dzeko, then got down low to save with one hand from the Bosnian striker’s snap shot from close range.
An alert Hart then tipped over Dzeko’s header from Mohamed Salah’s delivery.
“Before I took Hart I spoke to him to try and understand what kind of state of mind he would have here,” Torino coach Sinisa Mihajlovic told Sky Sport minutes after they secured only their second win of the campaign.
“But I can say he’s a true gem of a guy, as well as being an international goalkeeper who has given a lot of confidence to the team. I’m very happy with him.”
The Giallorossi heads dropped further when Iago Falque beat Szczesny from the spot on 53 minutes.
Although Totti came off the bench to send Hart the wrong way from the penalty spot two minutes later, hopes of a late fightback were quashed when Falque’s deflected shot flew over Szczesny halfway through the second period.
Spalletti – who said days ago he expects Dzeko to hit 20 goals this season – did not point the finger directly at the misfiring Bosnian striker.
But he said: “It’s always the same thing with Roma, when they’re in a good period they achieve the things that they should. When the chips are down, confusion reigns.
“Unfortunately, we are unable to maintain consistency in our duels, in our game and in our attempts to help each other.
“There are far too many ups and downs.”
Roma’s second reverse will prove costlier after Keita Balde and Senad Lulic scored once in each half to secure a 2-0 win over Empoli that moved Lazio up to fifth, behind Roma only on goals difference.
“I’m very happy, we’re laying some good foundations,” said Lazio coach Simeone Inzaghi.
“With our fixtures list, it was difficult to take 10 points from five games.”