A slow start by Torino was enough to give them a deficit that proved too difficult to overcome as Parma left the Stadio Olimpico with a 2-1 win over the Granata on Saturday afternoon, inflicting a first loss in six games onto Walter Mazzarri’s side in what was an entertaining encounter.
Clear messages were sent to Roberto Mancini as Roberto Inglese and Daniele Baselli staked their belated respective claims to be considered for selection by the Azzurri boss after his squad was announced earlier this week.
Three-hundred-and-nine minutes of waiting came to an end as Gervinho opened the scoring early on, capitalising on Armando Izzo’s chaotic attempt at defending in which he tackled teammate Nicolas Nkoulou and gifted the ball to the Ivorian right in front of Salvatore Sirigu’s goal.
It was two before long as Parma counterattacked lethally. Gervinho set Riccardo Gagliolo off down the left and he whipped a low cross towards the near post, where Inglese arrived and excellently flicked with the outside of his right foot up into the top corner at Sirigu’s near post.
Torino then woke up ten minutes before the break and it was no surprise that it was Baselli at the centre of the action again, this time pouncing on a loose ball outside the box to rifle a shot through a crowd of bodies and beyond Luigi Sepe.
Parma were lucky to have XI on the pitch moments later when Gagliolo got the ball caught under his feet and fell over, allowing Lorenzo De Silvestri to pounce and the Crociati man put his hand across the Toro full-back’s run, bringing him to ground when he was clean through on goal but the referee waved away the protests.
The second half was largely a case of Toro attacking and Parma defending with everyone other than Gervinho, who was their only outlet as they looked to counterattack.
English for Italy?
Bobby English is back and it shows in this Parma team who looked lost and lacking in attack in recent weeks without him.
His presence helped to free up Gervinho for the Gialloblu and he gave the Toro defence problems from the first minute, again emphasising his importance to his side.
Always a willing runner, even when it is to create space for his teammates rather than being in search of the ball himself, Inglese is someone that may feel hard done by to be excluded from Mancini’s latest Italy squad and will no doubt be looking to string a series of these performances together over the next few months to force his way into the setup.
Maturity from Baselli
Toro were awful until Daniele Baselli pulled a goal back to reduce their deficit before half-time and the midfielder was at the centre of everything they tried to do throughout the first half.
The No.8 was a real focal point and generally chose well with his passes, spreading play to Lorenzo De Silvestri and Ola Aina either flank whenever possible, while also knowing when to play the simple five-yard pass.
Ability is not something that has ever been doubted with Baselli, but consistency and, at times, temperament have, and if his career is to progress as expected when he left Atalanta for the Granata he will need to deliver more mature performances like this.
