Ignazio Abate said Torino’s late collapse in their 3-1 home defeat by Como left him “a little angry” after his side had appeared comfortable for much of the match.
Torino had taken the lead through Che Adams, who finished a counter-attack, and looked capable of extending their advantage. But Como levelled through Jacobo Ramon in the 81st minute before Nico Paz and Martin Baturina scored to complete a decisive turnaround.
The defeat ended a run of three consecutive victories for Torino, who had been among the form teams in Serie A. Despite conceding three times in the closing stages, the Granata players and Abate were applauded by their supporters at the final whistle.
“We were up against a great team, so we decided to sit deeper against them, but we didn’t suffer a lot for most of the match and had the chances to go 2-0 up,” Abate told Sky Sport Italia.
“Against these sides, I think we need to control the ball better, otherwise we do put ourselves at risk of conceding with their quality.”
Abate felt Torino’s approach had been positive early on, but said they needed to show greater confidence when attempting to play out from a deeper position.
“We tried to play our game, the spirit of the lads could not be faulted. In the first 25 minutes, we also showed a lot of quality, but when you drop deep, it is not easy to break out of that first press, so we need to have more courage in those situations,” he said.
Torino’s supporters have a long-standing history of protesting, yet they backed the team and their manager after the final whistle.
“It’s a pity the result was so heavy, because we did have the chances to score more and the third goal left me a little angry,” added Abate.
The Torino manager also pointed to the improvement that followed the easing of the club’s injury crisis. That has enabled him to select Nikola Vlasic in support of a two-man attack featuring Adams and Giovanni Simeone.
“This is our idea, trying to be positive, to control the ball, respect opponents with humility and know when it is time to defend,” said Abate.
Torino’s next challenge will be to turn that approach into results after Como’s late surge exposed the danger of surrendering possession and territory against a side with attacking quality.
