The city of Parma
was buzzing with the exciting opportunity to see the mighty league leaders play
at the Tardini. Masses of Inter fans made the trip south, expecting to see
their in-form team make easy work of Parma. However, the team in yellow and
blue had other ideas, and the match would end up being a nail-biter.
First Half
The hosts Parma started as the better side, in the
ascendancy early on. The first big chance of the game fell at the feet of
Parma’s young French striker, Ange-Yoan Bonny, who missed an absolute sitter
from a few yards out, hitting it straight at Yann Sommer. A team like Inter
will punish you for missing chances, and the visitors proceeded to go 1-0 up
after an unlucky sequence from Parma.
The yellow and blue then missed another massive
chance, with Dennis Man’s first time shot from Bonny’s cutback just barely
saved by a full-stretch Yann Sommer once again. The home fans were growing
frustrated, as was I, knowing that Parma couldn’t afford to be missing clear
cut chances against Inter, who are usually so solid defensively. Inter then
went 2-0 up with some fortune on their side. The first element of fortune was
Parma winger Pontus Almqvist’s laziness in holding the offside line, allowing
Mkhitaryan through on goal. He then cut it back to the number nine Marcus
Thuram, who fluffed his lines and hit his shot straight in the air. Somehow, it
still worked out- it went up and over Parma keeper Zion Suzuki and past a
helpless Almqvist, who tried to acrobatically clear it off the line. A bizarre
goal, with the embarrassed reaction on Thuram’s face telling the whole story.
Despite playing well and creating some clear chances on goal, Parma found
themselves 0-2 down at home at the half. There was a real sentiment in the home
crowd of feeling hard done by- a two-goal deficit against the league leaders
seemed insurmountable.
Second Half
Parma looked reborn in that second half, probably the
best 45 minutes they have played all season. Manager Cristian Chivu made three
subs at halftime and another in the 54th minute, all of whom proved to be
difference makers. They showed real character and fight to come back against
such a solid Inter side, who, it must be said, looked very tired in that second
half- and understandably so. This was the Nerazzuri’s third game in six days.
The comeback started in the 60th minute, with Parma’s Spanish number ten,
Adrián Bernabé, firing an excellent shot from outside the box into the bottom
right corner. It was the Spaniard’s first goal in Serie A, and I have to say-
he is one to watch. He looks like a real talent. Nine minutes later, with the
momentum of the crowd behind them, Parma capitalized again through left winger
Jacob Ondrejka, who had entered the game just fifteen minutes earlier. He drove
forward from a bit beyond the halfway line, all the way into the box. After a
stepover with his right and a shift onto his left, he hit a shot that was
deflected, completely wrong-footing Sommer before nestling into the net. The
Tardini was rocking- everyone in the crowd believing Parma could do something
special. Though a 2-2 draw is still an excellent result, they nearly did the
unthinkable in the dying minutes, with Argentinian striker Mateo Pellegrino
missing inches wide from close range after a low cross into the box from the
left. What a moment that would have been- but the game ended all square.
Full Time Implications
The final whistle blew to a roar from the home fans,
knowing this was a crucial point to pick up. After the weekend’s results, Parma
remains three points above the drop in 16th place, with 27 points total. Below
them is Lecce in 17th with 26 points and Empoli in 18th with 24. With seven
games remaining in the Serie A season, Parma still has some very difficult
fixtures to play, among them Fiorentina, Juventus, Lazio, Atalanta and Napoli.
They will need to pick up points against some of those teams if they want to
stay in Serie A next season.
