An Eventful Matchday at the Tardini: Parma takes on league leaders Inter

Pre-match scenes at the Ennio Tardini Stadium

League leaders Inter travel to 16th-placed Parma for their third game in 6 days. An eventful match awaits as an optimistic Parma look to exploit a tired Inter side…

Before the Match begins…

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.

But before that, I had an unexpected opportunity present itself at the stadium in the hour before kickoff. I arrived at my seat early, as I was there by myself and wanted to see the players warm up. Aware in the buildup that the game would be televised live on CBS back in the states, I was on the lookout for an American TV crew. Sure enough, standing pitch-side right in front of my section was Marco Messina, a lead Serie A analyst for CBS and someone I have been following on social media for a while now.

He built Italian Football TV, which is a media company dedicated to bringing all things calcio back to the states, making content I really enjoy and resonate with. I knew I’d regret it later if I didn’t seize the opportunity to say something to him. So, I took a few moments to build up the courage, then went up as close as I could get and shouted his name. He stopped his conversation and looked right at me. I proceeded to partially black out and said something along the lines of, “I’m American! I have my own soccer podcast and I’m a big fan of yours!”

He was such a nice guy about it- asking me the name of the podcast and what I’m doing here in Parma. We then chatted for around five minutes about Serie A, study abroad, and the match ahead. He followed We Call it Soccer on instagram and responded to my dm, and it was a pretty cool connection I was able to make. Shoutout to Marco- I hope we can connect again in the future. What a guy, and a big inspiration for me.

Kickoff…

First Half

Sure enough, 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.

In terms of Scudetto implications, Napoli missed their opportunity to close the gap on Inter by also drawing to Bologna this weekend. Inter still sits in first place with 68 points, while Napoli sits in second with 65. It is sure to go down to the wire, which is what makes Serie A one of the best and most entertaining leagues in the world.

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