Five-star Kulusevski leads the way with another masterclass for Parma

Date: 21st October 2019 at 9:05am
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STADIO ENNIO TARDINI (Parma) – Andreas Cornelius stole the show with a hat-trick in Parma’s 5-1 demolition of Genoa on Sunday evening but Dejan Kulusevski again played a key role for the Crociati.

Despite not starting the game, the Danish forward was celebrating his third goal just five minutes into the second half after replacing the injured Roberto Inglese early on.

At an elite level

With two more assists at the Tardini, Kulusevski became the first Serie A player to deliver multiple assists in more than one game this season, and his quality becomes harder for anyone to doubt or overlook with every passing week.

In what wasn’t even his best game, he ended the evening having played a direct part in three goals, scoring the fifth himself.

His two tonight put him level with Alfred Duncan and Luis Alberto to lead the assist charts in Italy’s top tier with five to his name. At just 19 he’s the youngest player in Europe’s top-five leagues to have reached that total.

What was most outstanding on Sunday wasn’t just his goal and assists though, but he showed a real willingness to work back and help on the rare occasions that Genoa found themselves in possession.

If he can maintain his level and keep improving then it will surely be only a matter of time before Gian Piero Gasperini sees a place for him in his Atalanta setup and with their free-flowing attack it’s hard to imagine him not settling in.

Parma’s Dane dominates

It didn’t look like things were going to go Cornelius’ way when he managed to miss a simple tap-in after Riccardo Gagliolo’s shot fell to his feet in front of goal, but his fortunes soon turned.

Once the deadlock was broken by Juraj Kucka, the No.11 became the star, diverting a fizzed Matteo Scozzarella freekick in, rifling in a volley and driving in his third from outside the box.

The hat-trick was his first in Serie A, and with it he’s taken his tally of Serie A goals to an unprecedented high already this season. His previous total was three goals in 28 appearances for Atalanta, but he’s already hit four this term.

He attempted six shots against Genoa, registering more than any Dane ever has in a Serie A match and his four goals have come from just five shots on target, showing that when he does find the target his strikes are hard to stop.

The end of the road

Aurelio Andreazzoli can’t last much longer on the bench at Genoa, and if he makes it through Monday without being sacked it will have been a surprise.

Parma tend to curse the Grifone, with their defeat of the Genovese last season marking the end for Davide Ballardini they could have put the final nail of another coach’s coffin.

 

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