“Sascha Britschgi picked up the first yellow card of the afternoon for a foul, setting a physical and fractious tone that would define the first half.”
“Lautaro Valenti became the fourth player booked in the first 30 minutes, capping a first half dominated by niggly fouls and disciplinary issues rather than quality football.”
“Mateo Pellegrino broke the deadlock in the 80th minute to settle this tight affair, converting to make it 1-0 and give Parma the three points after a sustained late push that saw Sørensen and Almqvist both go close in the buildup.”
Pivotal
Parma
Sassuolo
Outstanding performance
Parma•AttackerParma ground out a 1-0 win over Sassuolo in a match that was competitive without ever threatening to be memorable, decided by a single late goal in a game where both sides created precious little of note. Parma were the more threatening side throughout, outshooting Sassuolo 16 to 6 and generating 44 dangerous attacks to their opponents' 33, yet it took until ten minutes from time for that pressure to finally tell. Pellegrino, introduced as part of a wave of second-half substitutions, finished the job after Sørensen and Almqvist had both gone close in the minutes prior, with Parma's coaching staff ultimately getting their tactical tweaks right. For Sassuolo, it was a frustrating afternoon — they matched Parma in big chances created with two apiece but were wasteful when it mattered, missing both, and their defensive discipline was questionable with 14 fouls conceded and three yellow cards earned across the afternoon. The result moves Parma further clear of any relegation anxiety in mid-table, while Sassuolo will reflect on a performance that offered very little going forward.
How entertaining was this match?
Domenico Berardi takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Woyo Coulibaly's left-footed shot is blocked.
Gioele Zacchi replaces Stefano Turati.
Cristian Volpato comes on for Luca Lipani.
Pontus Almqvist's left-footed shot is blocked.
Mateo PellegrinoMateo Pellegrino Casalanguila scores with a header.
assist: Pontus Almqvist
Goal! Mateo Pellegrino Casalanguila scores to make it 1-0.
Pontus Almqvist takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Franco Carboni comes on for Emanuele Valeri.
Oliver Sorensen takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Pontus Almqvist comes on for Sascha Britschgi.
Oliver Sorensen is substituted for Mandela Keita.
MBala Nzola comes on for Armand Lauriente.
Nemanja Matic comes on for Ismael Kone.
Hans Nicolussi Caviglia takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Abdoulaye Ndiaye comes on for Lautaro Valenti.
Pedro Felipe comes on for Jay Idzes.
Emanuele Valeri misses with a left-footed shot.
Emanuele Valeri's left-footed shot is blocked.
Mateo Pellegrino Casalanguila takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Alessandro Cardinali replaces Daniel Mikolajewski.
The first half ends with a score of 0-0.
Mandela Keita takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Ismael Kone takes a right-footed shot that hits the post.
Christian Ordonez takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Mateo Pellegrino Casalanguila attempts a header but misses the shot.
Tommaso Macchioni takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Domenico Berardi's left-footed shot is saved.
Lautaro ValentiYellow CardLautaro Valenti receives a yellow card.
Hans Nicolussi Caviglia takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Tommaso Macchioni receives a yellow card.
Lautaro Valenti attempts a header but misses the shot.
Kristian ThorstvedtYellow CardKristian Thorstvedt receives a yellow card.
Emanuele Valeri takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Daniel Mikolajewski takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Sascha BritschgiYellow CardSascha Britschgi receives a yellow card.
Mateo Pellegrino Casalanguila takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Hans Nicolussi Caviglia takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Kick-off! The referee is Niccolo Turrini.
