Torino laid siege to Club Brugge and were repeatedly denied by miraculous Matthew Ryan saves for a 0-0 draw.
Elsewhere in the group, HJK Helsinki beat Copenhagen 2-1, so the Italians stay in second place and there are numerous permutations for the final round.
Torino laid siege to Club Brugge and were repeatedly denied by miraculous Matthew Ryan saves for a 0-0 draw.
Elsewhere in the group, HJK Helsinki beat Copenhagen 2-1, so the Italians stay in second place and there are numerous permutations for the final round.
The Granata were just one point behind Europa League group leaders Club Brugge going into this match. They had won all four of their continental home games this season without conceding, but the Belgians had won their last four away. This fixture ended 0-0 in September, largely thanks to the heroics of Jean-Francois Gillet, but Daniele Padelli was given a chance to shine in goal this time.
Confidence within the squad was very low after a home defeat to Sassuolo at the weekend, in which Toro missed their third penalty of the season.
Josef Martinez tested the goalkeeper straight away, but then attempted an audacious bicycle-kick and missed the ball. Alessandro Gazzi prompted some messy defending in the Brugge box and Emiliano Moretti nodded the resulting corner wide.
Brugge had a great chance too, as Nicolas Castillo caught Pontus Jansson napping and forced Padelli into a desperate save from point-blank range.
Victor Vazquez also blasted a fierce strike inches wide of the far post, but Martinez thought he had put Torino in front with an angled drive, denied by a stunning one-handed Matthew Ryan save.
Australian goalkeeper Ryan also had to palm away an Omar El Kaddouri strike after Martinez whistled his finish just wide.
Ryan performed two absolutely stunning reaction saves in the space of 45 seconds. First he got down quickly to parry after an Omar El Kaddouri solo effort, then incredibly stuck out a hand to keep out a Martinez diving header from six yards.
It was turning into a siege and Ryan flew to beat away a Marco Benassi blockbuster, while Felipe Gedoz fired straight at Padelli in a rare Brugge attack, but a promising Cesare Bovo counter was ruined by El Kaddouri’s first touch.
Jansson’s header from a corner skimmed the woodwork with Ryan finally beaten. It was a one-off, as Ryan then performed a great save on Cristian Molinaro’s fierce volley and from the resulting corner Matteo Darmian drilled just wide.
Australia international Ryan was without a doubt Man of the Match and reserved his toughest save for the 89th minute. He somehow managed to palm a Marcelo Larrondo header on to the underside of the bar from six yards.
Molinaro was booked in stoppages and will be suspended for the final group match in Copenhagen.
Torino 0-0 Club Brugge
Torino: Padelli; Bovo, Jansson, Moretti; Darmian, Benassi (Vives 78), Gazzi, El Kaddouri, Molinaro; Martinez (Larrondo 88), Amauri
Club Brugge: Ryan; Meunier, Mechele, Duarte, De Bock; Silva (Vormer 62), Simons, Fernando; Vazquez (Refaelov 63); Felipe Gedoz, Castillo (De Sutter 87)
Ref: Nijhuis (NED)