Torino toast Serie A return

By Paolo Menicucci

Ten-man Torino Calcio returned to Serie A after a two-year absence despite a 1-0 defeat by AC Perugia in the second leg of their promotion play-off final at the Stadio Delle Alpi.

Higher finish
Giuseppe Mascara's solitary goal for Perugia levelled the aggregate scores after Torino's 2-1 first-leg victory, but when extra time failed to separate the sides, Torino were promoted as they finished above the Umbrian club in the regular Serie B season.

Mudingayi dismissed
Perugia had created more goalscoring opportunities, with Ferdinand Coly and Fabrizio Ravanelli looking especially sharp. Torino defended well and managed to keep Perugia at bay despite midfielder Gaby Mudingayi's dismissal in the closing stages of extra time.

Promoted trio
The seven-time Italian champions join Genoa 1893 and Empoli FC in winning promotion to the élite. "I'm sorry for Perugia because they played really well and made our life difficult until the final whistle," said 16-goal Torino forward Massimo Marazzina. "However, we deserved this promotion and I want to dedicate it to our fantastic fans."

Classic derbies
Next season's Serie A calendar will feature all four classic derbies - Torino-Juventus FC and Genoa-UC Sampdoria joining the Milan and Rome derbies on the fixture list.