Serie A Analysis · Torino
Keep Torino's Second Shape Ready for Roma
Ignazio Abate changed both flanks and moved Torino from a back three to a 4-3-1-2 before two late goals beat Fiorentina. The usable prize is a second shape for Roma.
The board changed before the score did
Torino were 1-0 down at Fiorentina when Ignazio Abate finished changing the geometry. Marcus Pedersen occupied one flank after replacing Fortini. Rafik Belghali had already taken the other. Giovanni Simeone and Daniel Bragança arrived as Abate moved from a back three to a 4-3-1-2. Rolando Mandragora equalised in the 74th minute. Ché Adams won it eight minutes later.
The temptation is to celebrate a comeback and move on. Torino's first three points of the season deserve the noise, especially after two defeats. The more valuable result is that Abate found a second shape his players could understand while the match was still live. That is harder to bank than a long-range goal and more useful against Roma next week.
A formation change is not a magic trick. Numbers on a broadcast graphic do not press, pass or cover. This one mattered because it altered where Torino could receive and how quickly the team could place a second forward near Adams. The flank changes made the switch possible; the central relationships made it worth attempting.
Why the first shape was not broken
Torino's 3-5-1-1 had already produced first-half pressure, including two Mandragora attempts. Abate did not need to tear up a failed plan at halftime. He needed to preserve the platform while changing the number of players available around Adams.
Mateo Pellegrino's 47th-minute opener changed the demand, with Perri imperfect on the goal. Torino now needed another player near the penalty area without surrendering the midfield platform that had let Mandragora advance. Keeping the back three would have preserved width but left Adams easier to isolate. Simply adding a striker without changing the cover would have invited Fiorentina through the outside spaces.
Abate's answer arrived in stages. First he refreshed the wide positions. Then the line of four reduced the wingbacks' long recovery runs, Bragança joined midfield and Simeone gave Adams a nearer reference. Torino could attack with two forwards and keep a connector underneath rather than asking one player to perform three jobs.
Two goals do not prove the diagram
The strongest objection is obvious. Mandragora equalised with a superb strike from outside the box, and Adams scored after Víctor Valdepeñas lost the ball in a dangerous area. Those are not laboratory demonstrations of a 4-3-1-2. Torino also needed Perri to save Arthur Atta's header when Fiorentina were still ahead.
That limit should sharpen the verdict rather than erase it. The shape change did not manufacture either finish, but it placed more Torino players close enough to continue an attack after the initial action. On the winner, Belghali supplied Adams after Valdepeñas lost the ball in a dangerous area. The adjustment raised the number of useful positions around the ball. It did not order Mandragora's long-range equaliser from the menu.
Abate should therefore keep the second shape as a condition, not declare it the new permanent identity. Use it when Torino need another forward between the centre-backs and the opponent is no longer threatening both flanks at once. Avoid it when the outside defenders cannot step forward or the midfield three are being pulled apart. A flexible team knows not only its alternative but the price of choosing it.
Roma will test the ownership
Torino host Roma on September 14. The next test is whether the move can happen before the scoreboard forces it. If Roma close the first central pass, Abate can use the back three to move around the pressure. If Torino need another presence beside Adams, the shift to four should come with clear instructions for the fullbacks and the midfielder protecting them.
The players also have to own the trigger. Pedersen and Belghali cannot both advance because the crowd wants a chase. The player underneath needs to know when to remain the connector and when to join the front line. Mandragora's licence to shoot is valuable precisely because the rest of the midfield has an agreed response when the ball rebounds the other way.
A 2-1 win at Fiorentina can become a pleasant early-season story about spirit. Torino should demand more from it. Against Roma, one clean transition between shapes—no sideline panic, no vacant flank, no five-minute seminar around the substitution board—would show that Abate did not merely find a comeback. He found an option his team can use again.
2026-2027 season
Serie A standings
| # | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Roma |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +9 | 9 | W W W |
| 2 |  Inter Milan |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +5 | 9 | W W W |
| 3 |  Como |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +4 | 7 | W W D |
| 4 |  AC Milan |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +3 | 6 | W W |
| 5 |  Juventus |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +3 | 6 | W W |
| 6 |  Lazio |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 6 | W W |
| 7 |  Atalanta |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 6 | L W W |
| 8 |  Udinese |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | W D |
| 9 |  Frosinone |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 3 | W L |
| 10 |  Sassuolo |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | W L |
| 11 |  Cagliari |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | L W |
| 12 |  Lecce |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 3 | L W |
| 13 |  Napoli |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | L L W |
| 14 |  Torino |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 3 | W L L |
| 15 |  Bologna |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | L L |
| 16 |  Parma |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 0 | L L |
| 17 |  Monza |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 0 | L L |
| 18 |  Venezia |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 0 | L L |
| 19 |  Genoa |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -6 | 0 | L L L |
| 20 |  Fiorentina |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -8 | 0 | L L L |
