Torino 3-0 Napoli - Torino hammer 10-man Napoli as Pasquale Mazzocch off for champions to compound misery

Napoli's woes continued against Torino thanks to 10 minutes of madness, five either side of the break, which saw them go two goals and a player down, and all but out of the match.

An entertaining and open first 45 saw had seen each side enjoy periods of power and possessions. Opportunities came at both ends with Napoli the first to truly threaten their opponents goal, in the 26th minute. Giacomo Raspadori found himself with a point blank opportunity but hit it straight at the Torino goalkeeper who had positioned himself well and made himself big.

For Torino, Nikola Vlasic looked the most likely to score but his shots were all a little late or a bit wayward.

Just as Napoli were beginning to get something of a grip on the game, Torino found themselves with a free-kick some 15 yards into their opponents half on the left of the centre circle. Taken by Ivan Ilic, he looped it towards a rush of burgundy where it deflected off Jesus into the body of Antonio Sanabria. Sanabria might have got lucky with the bounce of his thigh, but after the ball fell to his feet he made no mistake in tucking it past Gollini in the Napoli goal, to take Torino into the dressing room with their tails up.

Said spirits will only have lifted higher within minutes of the restart when Napoli substitute Pasquale Mazzocchi slid in recklessly at the byline against Valentin Lazaro. Referee Maurizio Mariani initially gave just a yellow but after being invited to take a closer look returned brandishing a red.

That extra space was all Torino needed and a second goal, from Nicola Vlasic, soon followed. With extra space on the pitch created by the sending off, the ball fell nicely to him on the edge of the box. The Croatian took one look at his opportunity before putting the laces of his left boot through it, and sending the shot into the bottom left corner of the goal.

Torino put the result beyond doubt in the 66th minute. A Valentino Lazaro corner arrived in the middle of the box with no Napoli players rising to defend it. It was instead met by the head of a rising Alessandro Buongiorno who nodded it neatly into the top left corner of the goal.

The home side saw the game out comfortably, as Napoli extended their scoreless run to four matches.

It might merely have been a case of rueing missed chances, but Napoli fans will reasonably see something more intrinsically rotten at their football club. When the travelling supporters lit flares following the third goal, it might well have been to hide either their own shame or the dire performances on the pitch.

The style of play is less the problem, than a lack of cohesion or confidence in themselves or each other. They will not defend the scudetto, that is for sure. The question that might be asked, however, is how low will they go?

A captain's performance, rewarded with a goal for Alessandro Buongiorno. Napoli would have had to be at their best to beat the 24 year-old - which they definitely weren't - because he had his eye on everything. On the ground he limited the opposition to low percentage shots, but it was in the air that he truly reigned supreme. His goal, from a corner, with his head, was no less than he deserved, the mark of a man who knows how to time his leap and can place a header wherever he wants.

TORINO: Milinkovic-Savic 7, Djidji 7, Buongiorno 9, Rodriguez 8; Bellanova 7, Ricci 7, Ilic 7, Lazaro 7; Vlasic 8; Sanabria 8, Zapata 7… Subs: Sazonov 7, Pellegri 6, Gineitis 6, Karamoh 5, Seck 5

NAPOLI: Gollini 6; Di Lorenzo 5, Rrahmani 5, Jesus 6, Rui 5; Cajuste 5, Lobotka 5, Zielinski 6; Politano 5, Raspadori 6, Kvaratskhelia 5… Subs: Mazzocchi 3, Simeone 6, Zerbin 6, Lindstrom 7, Gaetano 6

43' - GOAL FOR TORINO! A nasty deflection from a 30 yard free kick bounces through and finds Sanabria. His control was more accidental but it fell to him in a huge amount of space, and he was able to comfortably tuck it away past Gollini.

50' - NAPOLI PLAYER SENT OFF! Within four minutes of coming on, Pasquale Mazzochi slides in with a very high right leg. The referee initially gave a yellow before being invited to take another look, from which review he returned brandishing a red card.

52' - GOAL FOR TORINO! The ball falls nicely for Vlasic on the edge of the box and he only needed one look before putting his laces through it. Into the bottom left corner and well out of reach of the Napoli keeper.

66' - GOAL FOR TORINO! A great corner from Valentino Lazaro to which the Torino captain Buongiorno rose to meet in the middle, towering over the heads of the defenders.His header couldn't have been better placed into the top corner. Nothing Gollini could do there.