Once again, Parma has failed to capitalize. This time, they escaped a favorable fixture against Catania with little more than a point. To make things worse, the point Catania received from the game was the first point they’ve gotten all season.
A team simply cannot win if they do not score. So far this season, Parma has scored two goals in four games. In Serie A competition, that is not good enough.
Like a rocket, Parma has shot down the tables this season as a result of their offensive anemia. No matter what happens next, Parma needs to become more of an offensive threat if they hope to get into the win column this year.
In Parma’s defense, perhaps the rain-soaked pitch made sustained movement difficult, preventing Parma from settling into a groove. On a positive note, they rebounded nicely from the three-goal thrashing they took at the hands of Roma last week. Against Catania, Parma’s defense held Catania in check and not a goal was allowed. Given how Parma’s season has gone thus far, every positive note is worth its weight in gold.
Moving back to the offensive end, why was Nicola Sansone on the bench again? More concerning than that, he failed to even make an appearance in the game. Amauri and Cassano aren’t getting the job done. As a club, you’ve only scored two goals so far. What is the worst that can happen if you give Sansone some extra playing time to develop into a better player?
Despite the shortcomings, the offense did have several opportunities throughout the game. A particular moment that comes to mind is when Amauri got through the defense and nearly scored a goal, only to be denied by a superb save from Catania goalkeeper Mariano Andujar. But, in total, Parma was rather close to Catania in terms of shots on goal. Both teams managed twelve shots taken.
Of those, two were on the mark for Catania and three for Parma. If Parma is going to continue to have opportunities so infrequently, they need to improve at capitalizing. Next time, Amauri really needs to score that goal. The better team doesn’t necessarily shoot the most. The best team simply scores at the right time.
Statistics don’t mean everything. Nowhere is this more obvious than in Parma’s time of possession dwarfing that of Catania’s 59% to 41%. If I had only read the time of possession, I would have expected to see a result in Parma’s favor. Instead, Parma once again failed to use their strength to their advantage.
Having a solid midfield does no good if none of them can score. Such seems to be the case with Parma. Keeping five men (and solid players, no less) in their midfield does a lot to ensure higher percentages of possession. It is their lack of offensive gusto that reduces this advantage to virtually nothing.
Next week, Parma has another solid opportunity to pick up a win against Atalanta. Like Parma, Atlanta has been struggling this season with three losses under its belt. Unlike Parma, Atlanta picked up a 2-0 victory over Torino in their second game of the season. With any luck, Parma hopes to send Atlanta home with yet another loss. And, if Parma learns from their mistakes and plays more offensive football, a win against Atalanta is a realistic expectation for this Parma team.
