Milan (AFP) – Torino coach Sinisa Mihajlovic leapt to the defence of Joe Hart on Sunday despite the England goalkeeper shipping four goals in a 4-1 defeat to Serie A title hopefuls Roma. 

Edin Dzeko, a former teammate of Hart’s at Manchester City, beat the Englishman on 10 minutes with a low strike from the edge of the area.

Further goals from Mohamed Salah and Leandro Paredes, who struck a volley low from 35 yards, put the hosts firmly in control by half-time.

Although Maxi Lopez hit a late consolation, Francesco Totti set Radja Nainggolan up for Roma’s fourth in the dying minutes to wrap up a forgettable night’s work at the Stadio Olimpico for Hart, who is on loan from City.

“We were never going to cause an upset by winning here tonight because Roma are better than us and are undefeated at home all season,” Mihajlovic told Sky Sport.

“The quality of their players made the difference, to the extent that Hart, who wasn’t able to make one save, conceded four goals.”

Roma are back up to second place at seven points behind leaders Juventus, while Torino lost ground to their rivals for a place in next season’s Europa League.

Mihajlovic’s men are ninth on 35 points.