Paulo Dybala showcased his brilliance with a remarkable hat-trick, marking his first Serie A treble since October 2018, as Roma clinched a thrilling 3-2 victory over Torino.
Coming off the back of their dramatic Europa League play-off triumph against Feyenoord, where Mile Svilar emerged as the hero in a penalty shootout, Roma faced fatigue and injury concerns, notably Diego Llorente and Rick Karsdorp. Chris Smalling returned to the starting lineup for the first time since September, alongside Evan Ndicka, as Roma reverted to a 3-5-2 formation. Torino, having played on Thursday as well and suffered a 2-0 defeat to Lazio in a rescheduled Serie A fixture, had their own injury woes with Mergim Vojvoda and Adrien Tameze sidelined, among others.
Roma had a golden opportunity early on, with Sardar Azmoun setting up Rasmus Kristensen, who struck the post with an open goal beckoning. Torino threatened on the counter, but Matteo Lovato’s injury compounded their woes.
The deadlock was broken when substitute Saba Sazonov fouled Azmoun in the box, leading to Dybala calmly converting the penalty. Torino responded swiftly, with Duvan Zapata heading in Raoul Bellanova’s cross to level the scores.
In the second half, Dybala produced a moment of magic, curling in a stunning left-footed strike from distance to restore Roma’s lead. He completed his hat-trick soon after, combining with Romelu Lukaku before finishing from a tight angle.
Despite Torino pulling one back through an own goal, Roma held on for the win, with Dybala’s heroics sealing the three points in a thrilling encounter.
Roma 3-2 Torino