Marcelo Brozovic struck a last-gasp winner as Inter Milan kick-started their Serie A campaign with a 1-0 victory over Torino.
The Croatian brilliantly steered in a cross in the final moments to lift the pressure on boss Simone Inzaghi following defeats to AC Milan and Bayern Munich.
Lautaro Martinez fired an early chance over the top as the hosts looked to make a fast start, but they struggled to create anything else of note throughout the remainder of a dour first half.
Torino went closest midway through the first period when Nikola Vlasic saw a low shot brilliantly blocked by Samir Handanovic.
The away side, who were without coach Ivan Juric due to a bout of pneumonia, looked the more likely following the restart but Handanovic kept them at bay.
The hosts eventually found another gear late on and Martinez nodded just wide before Brozovic struck right at the end.
The result sees Inter move up to third in the table, two points adrift of the summit. Torino are two points further back in seventh.
Next up, Inter visit Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League on Tuesday before heading to Udinese in Serie A on Sunday. Torino host Sassuolo on Saturday night.
TALKING POINT
Inter end tough week on a high. The stats did not make for good reading coming into the contest and Inzaghi and his side were expected to respond.
The Nerazzurri had lost back-to-back games for the first time since February and a sluggish start to the campaign overall meant fans were getting restless.
This was hardly a vintage performance but the manner of such late victories can often be the platform for improvement and Inzaghi will certainly hope that this is the case.
The Inter boss made full use of his bench to secure the result he wanted as the home side had far more urgency in the latter stages.
Torino will rue a missed opportunity as they were the better team for long spells but could not find a way past the Inter goalkeeper.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Samir Handanovic (Inter Milan). The veteran stopper returned to the line-up after being left out against Bayern and produced a superb display. The 38-year-old made a series of important stops at 0-0 which provided the basis for the late win.
PLAYER RATINGS
INTER: Handanovic 8, Skriniar 7, De Vrij 7, Dimarco 7, Dumfries 6, Barella 7, Brozovic 7, Calhanoglu 6, Darmian 6, Dzeko 6, Lautaro Martinez 6. Subs: Bastoni 6, Correa 6, Bellanova 6, Mkhitaryan 6, Gosens n/a.
TORINO: Milinkovic-Savic 7, Djidji 7, Buongiorno 7, Rodriguez 7, Lazaro 7, Lukic 7, Linetty 7, Vojvoda 7, Seck 7, Vlasic 8; Sanabria 6. Subs: Ilkhan 6, Radonjic 6, Zima 6, Pellegri n/a, Singo n/a.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
07’ – INTER CHANCE! Darmian’s proactive run ends with a smart cut-back for Edin Dzeko, who combines with Barella to tee up Lautaro Martinez to fizz over the top.
20’ – TORINO CHANCE! Nikola Vlasic darts beyond a challenge and jinks into the left side of the area. He wastes little time in unleashing a low shot towards the bottom corner, but Handanovic makes a brilliant stop with his right boot to keep it out.
47’ – TORINO CHANCE! Vojvoda overlaps into the area on the left but sees his attempted curler towards the far corner deflected behind. Torino comes again when Sanabria rises well to meet Vlasic’s cross from the left, but his powerful header is parried away by Handanovic.
50’ – TORINO RED CARD CHALKED OFF BY VAR! Sanabria is given his marching orders for a raised arm in an aerial challenge with Calhanoglu. VAR checks and asks the official to look at the pitch-side monitor. The referee watches the replays and opts to downgrade his initial decision to a yellow card.
57’ – TORINO CHANCE! Handanovic springs to his right to keep out a deflected, low free kick from 20 yards out.
75’ – INTER CHANCE! Skriniar meets a left-wing corner but sees his thumping header beaten away by Milinkovic-Savic.
79’ – INTER CHANCE! Martinez nods inches wide from Bastoni’s delightful cross.
89’ – GOAL! – Inter 1-0 Torino. Brozovic flicks home a lovely clipped pass to surely pinch the points for the home team.
