Parma fought valiantly throughout their meeting with Juventus on Saturday, though the visitors had just enough to scrape a narrow 1-0 win. The game was deadlocked until the final 15 minutes, when a single moment of brilliance from Fabio Quagliarella set up Paul Pogba's winning goal.
Parma vs. Juventus: Final score 0-1, Juve scrape late win
Parma battled hard, though a late goal from Paul Pogba saw Juventus pick up a 1-0 win away at the Ennio Tardini.
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The crociati have frustrated Juventus at the Ennio Tardini in recent years, and the discipline which has characterised previous performances was in evidence again from the first whistle. They gave as good as they got throughout the first half, and should've found themselves ahead after just 11 minutes, though wing-back Massimo Gobbi flashed his shot across goal from a tight angle.
Juventus almost went ahead four minutes later when when Carlos Tévez and Sebastian Giovinco linked up in the area, though the former's shot from inside the area was caught by goalkeeper Antonio Mirante. It was a rare sight of goal for the bianconeri, who, like their opponents, largely came to rely on long-range shots. Arturo Vidal went closest just past the half-hour mark, drilling narrowly wide from the edge of the Parma box.
The visitors came out for the second half with added zest, though a rapid counter-attack down the right through Jonathan Biabiany saw Parma create the first clear-cut chance of the match. The French winger pulled the ball back across goal for an onrushing Amauri, though his fancy flick agonisingly tricked wide of the far post.
The game began to open out heading into the final 20 minutes, and Juventus almost went ahead when Simone Padoin’s low cross found Tévez peeling off his marker in the area. He flashed a low shot goalwards, though Mirante made an excellent stop to keep the game goalless. The bianconeri began to swarm ever higher up the pitch, penning Parma in.
Eventually, the pressure told. With just under 15 minutes left substitute Fabio Quagliarella curled the ball spectacularly against the crossbar from distance, with his teammate Paul Pogba following in and dispatching the rebound beyond Mirante. Parma rallied in search of an equaliser, though the Juventus defending was stubborn, and the gialloblu’s efforts in vain.
Parma: Mirante; Mendes (Felipe 69’), Lucarelli, Cassani; Gobbi, Parolo, Marchionni (Obi 87’), Gargano (Sansone 82’), Biabiany; Cassano, Amauri.
Juventus: Buffon; Chiellini, Ogbonna, Barzagli; Asamoah, Marchisio (Pirlo 62’), Pogba, Vidal, Padoin; Giovinco (Llorente 75’), Tévez (Quagliarella 76’).
Goals: Pogba (77’).
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