Going into Saturday's match at Il Tardini, Inter Milan and Parma were on opposite ends of the table. Inter Milan were just five points off of the lead and while it was unlikely that they would catch the leaders, AC MIlan, they still had an outside chance at the Scudetto. Parma were only one point clear of the drop zone and had no thoughts of the top half of the table, let alone the top. Their only concern was survival. Well, after the match Parma had taken a big step towards survival, while Inter's title hopes were extinguished as Parma defeated the visitors, 2-0.
Parma Vs. Inter Milan: Parma Extinguish Inter Milan’s Title Hopes With 2-0 Win
Parma were better from the beginning, controlling possession and showing no issues in staying organized at the back. In fact, Inter only really threatened twice in the first half and both came on shots from distance by Dejan Stankovic. One struck the post and another forced a good save from Antonio Mirante, but even those chances were a result a great skill from Stankovic, not good play from the Nerazurri.
Late in the half Parma finally got the goal they deserved thanks to a 35th minute strike by Sebastian Giovinco. Cristiano Zaccardo got free along the right and played a tantalizing ball across that Francesco Modesto gathered beyond the far post before picking out Giovinco in the center. Giovinco simply slotted the ball past Julio Cesar and Parma had the 1-0 lead they so deserved going into the half.
One thing that Inter did have in its back pocket when they came out of the dressing room for the second half was Wesley Sneijder. The Dutchman started on the bench, but came on to begin the second half and make an impact right away. Twice he almost scored with one of the chances beating Mirante, but missing the far post by mere inches. Inter also began to grab a hold of some of the possession, but they couldn't crack the Parma defense.
It is not as if Parma was upset that they lost some of the possession anyways. They chose to drop deeper and defend with an eye out for the opportunity to counter-attack and that’s just what they did. They twice exposed Inter on the counter, once hitting the bar and another time just missing a golden opportunity, but they finally got the goal to seal it five minutes from time.
The counter-attack got Parma into a dangerous position and more specifically, Valeri Bojinov in a dangerous position. The Bulgarian couldn’t shoot quick enough though and his shot was blocked, but it was blocked right to Amauri with no defender near him. Amauri took a took to clear room from an onrushing Cesar before knocking the ball into the net to put a ribbon on the match and a nail in the coffin of Inter’s scudetto dreams.
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