Parma 0-0 Udinese

Parma and Udinese played out a 0-0 draw at the Stadio Tardini this Wednesday evening. Both sides were sitting on four points and were keen to end their poor spells of form, but the game ended in a stalemate. Kosta Runjaic’s side had several chances, but the standout performer was undoubtedly Maduka Okoye, who saved a penalty from Adrian Bernabe.

From the opening moments it was the away side who were looking to dictate play. In the sixth minute the Zebrette nearly broke the deadlock through Nicolo Zaniolo, whose left-footed effort went just wide of the top corner. Parma responded shortly before the 15-minute mark with an attempt from distance by Mandela Keita, which failed to trouble Okoye. 

As the half progressed, Udinese continued to dominate possession and camped out in Parma’s half, while the hosts looked to strike on the break. In the 25th minute Jesper Karlstrom tried his luck from range but missed the target, and two minutes later, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp attempted a clever back-heeled flick from a Zaniolo cross, but Giovanni Daffara was equal to it.

Parma threatened early in the second half through Bernabe, who fired off target after a smart one-two exchange on the edge of the box. Parma’s pressure told, and with just over 20 minutes left to play they were awarded a penalty. However, Okoye managed to keep out Bernabe’s effort.

Following Parma’s missed spot-kick, the tempo dropped for about 15 minutes before the Zebrette regained their momentum. They came agonisingly close to scoring through Ekkelenkamp and Unai Gomez - the former saw his effort cleared by Mariano Troilo, while the latter was denied by a Daffara save. 

In the end, neither side were able to make a breakthrough. Udinese did manage to end their six-game losing streak, and now sit on five points in Serie A.

Parma (3-5-2): Daffara; Delprato (c), Troilo, Drobnic; Britschgi (Almqvist 86), Bernabe (Fabbian 74), Sierro, Keita, Carboni (Valeri 59); Romero (Frigan 59), Toure (Lontani 74). 
Unused substitutes: Ghidotti, Corvi, Ndiaye, Diallo, Cremaschi, De Martis, Ordonez, Diego Carlos, Nicolussi Caviglia, Konate. 
Coach: Gilardino

Udinese (3-4-2-1): Okoye; Abankwah, Kabasele, Palma; Bertola (Vojvoda 63), Karlstrom (capt.) (Piotrowski 71), Chakvetadze (Miller 82), Kamara (Ebosse 71); Zaniolo (Gomez 82), Ekkelenkamp; Davis.
Unused substitutes: Mrozek, Padelli, Lovric, Zarraga, Arizala, Vinciati, Jovanovic. 
Coach: Runjaic

Referee: Massa
Assistants: Scatragli, Galimberti
Fourth Official: Bonacina
VAR: Mazzoleni, Baroni

Booked: Karlstrom, Lontani, Zaniolo