Fiorentina and Parma played out a 2-2 draw at the Artemio Franchi on Monday in Serie A.
An impressive second-half performance by Fiorentina and two goals by Gonzalo Rodriguez and Juan Vargas were not enough to see off a Parma side which scored deep into each half through Walter Gargano and Gobbi.
The first good opportunity for any of the two teams came after six minutes, when a long-range shot by the visitors was saved by Fiorentina’s goalkeeper Norberto Neto, after which Antonio Cassano and Raffaele Palladino could not capitalise on the rebound.
Minutes later the Ducali were it again. Palladino was found in the penalty box and attempted to free Massimo Gobbi on goal with a flick, but a last-second interception by a Viola defender prevented the danger.
Fiorentina’s first opportunity to threaten Antonio Mirante’s goal came on a free kick in the 19th minute. The cross by Borja Valero found Stefan Savic in the penalty area but the 22-year-old defender’s header was disappointingly inaccurate. Seconds later Parma had an opportuinity themselves when Palladino hit a volley off a poor clearance by the Viola defense, but his shot ended up straight at Neto.
However, Parma did get their goal in the additional time of the first half. Gargano received the ball at the edge of the penalty area with a lot of space around him. The Uruguayan hesitated for a second but send a shot toward goal, the ball deflected off Rodriguez and left Neto watching as it crossed the line for Gargano’s first goal in 18 months.
Vincenzo Montella attempted to boost his attack at halftime after Giuseppe Rossi’s first-half injury and introduced Vargas, who came on for Rafal Wolski.
The Viola started the second half better, but it was not until the 60th minute when they created their first clear opportunity to equalise. Marcos Alonso stole the ball on the left, advanced into the box and hit a strong shot which forced a good diving save by Mirante and resulted in a Fiorentina corner.
Just minutes later, however, Fiorentina’s second-half dominance materialised as Rodriguez equalised with a header after a well-taken corner by Valero.
About a quarter-hour later, David Pizarro was left to dribble through the Parma defense and send it in the middle to Vargas. The Peruvian took control of the ball with his shoulder and sent an unorthodox shot toward Mirante’s goal which found the back off the back of Alessandro Lucarelli.
Fiorentina never took the foot off the pedal and it seemed certain that they will take all three points, but the defense fell asleep during a seemingly harmless Parma attack. Substitute Stefano Okaka made his way through the traffic in the penalty box and released Jonathan Biabiany on the right. The Frenchman sent a high, floating ball across the goal which found Gobbi on the far post, and the veteran defender made the score 2-2 with the last shot in the match, winning a precious point for his side.
