It was a hard-fought battle at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, but in the end, it was the visitors that picked up all three points. Goals from Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi bookended one from Cristian Zaccardo. Parma played well, but in their rush to grab a second, left themselves vulnerable to Napoli's counterattack.
Parma Vs. Napoli, 2012 Serie A: Napoli Take All Three Points In Zona Mazzarri
Napoli took the lead just before the break through the skill of Cavani. The forward twisted his way through the Parma defence, finding a bit of space inside the area. Before he could take advantage, Gianluca Musacci clipped the back of his heel, sending Cavani tumbling and earning himself a yellow card in the process. El Matador stepped up to the spot himself, but sent in an easy shot, batted away by Antonio Mirante. Unfortunately for the home side, the keeper couldn’t smother the ball, and Cavani knocked it in on the rebound.
The visitors took the lead into the break, but from the look on Walter Mazzarri’s face, you could tell that their performance just wasn’t enough (to be fair, you could tell by watching their misplaced passes as well). Shortly after the restart, Parma did their best to find an equaliser, even putting the ball in the back of the net -- only to see the goal called back for a foul. Minutes later, McDonald Mariga missed a perfect opportunity to level the score, sending the ball high into the stands.
Yet it was clear a goal was coming, the only question was when. The equaliser came in the 77th minute, the Napoli defence done in by yet another Parma corner. Morgan De Sanctis managed to push away a header by Gabriel Paletta, but couldn't control the ball. Zaccardo slipped by Federico Fernandez to put the ball in the back of the net.
But Napoli apparently visualised Parma in Chelsea blue, and came roaring back, desperate to reclaim all three points. Lavezzi grabbed the winner, cooly fed by Cavani and easily slotted past Mirate. The partenopei have done all they can -- it's time for them to sit back and wait for the result of Roma - Lazio.
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