Serie A | Parma 1-0 Fiorentina: Viola in real trouble

Parma picked up a massive three points at home against the relegation-threatened Fiorentina on Saturday afternoon as an early second-half goal from Oliver Sorensen sunk another nail into the Viola coffin. 

Parma fell to a 1-0 defeat against Lazio last time out in Serie A, while Fiorentina claimed their first league victory of the season in a 5-1 thrashing of Udinese, whose goalkeeper Maduka Okoye was shown a straight red after just seven minutes. Both coaches made just one change each: Carlos Cuesta introducing Jacub Ondrejka in place of Gateano Oristanio, while Paolo Vanoli stuck with an unchanged XI. 

Sorenson registered the first attempt of the game early on, sending an improvised volley to the right of David De Gea’s post from the edge of the area. Rolando Mandragora also tried his luck from distance for the visitors shortly afterwards. 

De Gea was tested for the first time by Jacob Ondrejka with a low effort from the edge of the box, which the Spaniard comfortably held onto. The Swede, along with Mateo Pellegrino, both had efforts smothered within the penalty area as well. 

The hosts did not have to wait long after the restart to find the breakthrough. Ondrejka supplied a low cross into the area from the touchline two minutes into the second half. It reached Pellegrino first and his effort fell into the path of the unmarked Sorensen, who tapped home from six yards to claim his first ever Serie A goal. 

Pellegrino had a glorious opportunity to put the game to bed in second-half injury time when he managed to round De Gea, but his touch took him a few yards too wide and the angle for the shot did not quite open up. 

Alarmingly for Fiorentina, the stretcher was called on for Roberto Piccoli, who required lengthy treatment on the pitch a minute before the referee was due to blow his whistle. It came as a relief to see the Italian walk himself off the pitch in the 100th minute, five minutes after the game was due to end.

This result is damning for Fiorentina: Pre-match reports had billed this as a relegation six-pointer, and now, the Viola remain dead last in the table with just nine points to their name after 17 matches. They are at least five points from safety, which could potentially become eight by the end of the weekend. 

Parma can breathe a temporary sigh of relief, however, as they now find themselves in 14th place in the Serie A standings, although that is also subject to change depending on the rest of this weekend’s results.