Torino triumph over Chievo

Torino stormed back from a goal down to defeat Chievo 4-1 and end 2013 on a high with an emphatic victory in Turin.

Torino stormed back from a goal down to defeat Chievo 4-1 on Sunday and end 2013 on a high with an emphatic Serie A victory in Turin. Cyril Thereau gave the visitors a ninth-minute lead but Ciro Immobile equalised for the hosts before the break. Immobile scored his second in the 65th minute to put his team in front before late strikes from Giuseppe Vives and Alessio Cerci completed Torino's comeback. The win, Torino's third straight in Serie A, ensures Giampiero Ventura's side heads into the winter break in seventh place. Chievo, meanwhile, will start the new year in 16th position, just two places and one point clear of the relegation zone. The visitors went into the encounter at the Olympic stadium looking to bounce back from last week's 1-0 defeat to Sampdoria that had halted a three-match winning streak for the Verona outfit. Chievo took an early lead when Thereau latched on to Gennaro Sardo's fine pass and fired a right-footed shot towards the far post and out of Torino goalkeeper Daniele Padelli's reach. The visitors had a chance to extend their advantage in the 36th minute but Alberto Paloschi's angled effort from 12 yards was saved by Padelli. Torino finally put a good move together in the 43rd minute when Vives fed Immobile in the box but his shot went wide of the right post. The hosts pulled level soon after when Cerci set up Immobile in the area and he beat Chievo goalkeeper Christian Puggioni with a right-footed strike towards the far post. Toro turned up the heat in the second half and in the 65th minute were ahead. Emiliano Moretti fed Immobile just outside the area and the Italian striker fired a 25-yard attempt past Puggioni. At the other end, Paloschi missed a good chance to make it 2-2 when he headed Thereau's cross wide from a good position. Torino reacted and made it 3-1 with 10 minutes remaining when Cerci set up Vives in the area and his left-footed attempt beat Puggioni. Cerci then capped off a wonderful afternoon for the hosts deep in stoppage time when he got behind substitute Riccardo Meggiorini's pass and fired a left-footed shot past Puggioni and into the back of the net.