Parma-Fiorentina 1-1: Biraghi responds to Man's lead

Parma, 17 August 2024 – It opens with one spectacular 1-1 the Parma season e Fiorentina. A draw that is perhaps a little closer to the hosts and that comes at the peak of a match full of emotions and with a thousand faces: Pecchia's men started off on the best foot, displaying great intensity right from the start. from the first minutes e they took the lead in the 22nd minute thanks to Man's goal on the Bonny bank. Five minutes later the Emilians then also had the opportunity to double their lead with Sohm's strike hitting the crossbar, but Fiorentina had the merit of knowing how to resist and, after showing the first signs of awakening at the end of the first half, rebalanced the match finding the equalizer with the brushstroke from Biraghi's free kick in the 75th minute'. The Viola, taking advantage of Parma's understandable decline in strength, then tried to overtake but, having been left numerically inferior due to Pongracic's expulsion in the 83rd minute, they risked too much when 2' from the 90' new substitute Cyprien ate the ducal overtaking one-on-one with Terracciano.

First half

The ducals started with great competitive ferocity, bringing pressure on the Viola in the non-possession phase, restarting with great pace and already creating two chances in the fourth with Mihaila, who first forced Terracciano to make a providential intervention with a sure shot with a right foot in the small area and then he misses the target after pounced on the rebound from the opposing goalkeeper following the whip fired from distance by Sohm. The match thus immediately escalates, with Fiorentina risking too much even on Man's slightly long pass for Mihaila and on Bonny's scissors kick in the area, anticipated by Martinez Quarta's perfect intervention, but then goes very close again to the goals with Colpani and Kean, which cause problems for Suzuki.

Too little, however, to stop the impetus of the yellow-blue team in the 22nd minute they scored the first goal of their championship with Man who, following the development of a very well orchestrated action, collected Bonny's edge and launched a left-footed shot that found its way to the right of the innocent Terracciano. The advantage galvanizes the Emilians even more who, thanks to Bonny's work behind the goal and that of Man, manage to keep the Viola defense in check and 5' later they even come within a whisker of doubling their lead with Sohm who, with a sure shot in the small area, rattles the crossbar. Only in the final segment of the first half, the Tuscans, who at times appeared on the ropes and were still behind in terms of the mechanisms of building the game, managed to shake off a bit of rust and be seen again by Suzuki with the insidious conclusions of Kean and Kouamé who, however, found no luck, thus allowing Parma to protect their lead until Ayroldi's final whistle.

Second half

The second half begins without changes and with Parma starting to play with pace and personality again, finishing from a good position with Man after just 2'. The maneuver of Pecchia's men continues to be orchestrated with perfect movements and timing. As the minutes passed, however, tiredness began to be felt in the ducals' legs and Palladino on the other hand tried to take advantage of it by inserting Ikoné and Parisi in place of Colpani and Martinez Quarta. The arrivals of Hainaut, Camara and Almqvist are instead the first moves of Pecchia who revolutionizes the external lanes of the attack to find freshness in the offensive phase. Added to these entrances are those of Bianco and Kayode in the 73rd minute, which arrive just moments before the Viola equalised. Suzuki makes a mistake by taking the ball out of the outbound area and giving away a free kick from the bottom of the penalty area: Captain Biraghi appears on the ball and unleashes a left-footed shot that hits the far post and makes it 1-1.

A freezing shower for the ducals who, despite the substitutions made by Pecchia, continue to have the reserve warning light on, but in the 83rd minute another key episode arrives: Fiorentina remains in fact with ten men because Pongracic - already booked - arrives late on Cancellieri getting the second yellow card and leaving his team outnumbered. The course of the match changes again and Parma, with the extra man, devours the counter-overtake in the 88th minute, when the substitute Cyprien, face to face with Terracciano, sensationally misses the target of the opponent's goal. In the final stages the plans go awry and Fiorentina also has a wonderful opportunity on the restart with Dodò unable to capitalize on Ikoné's foul, effectively bringing the curtain down on the match.

The little table

Parma (4-2-3-1): Suzuki; Coulibaly, Balogh, Circati, Valeri; Estevez, Bernabé (Cyprien from 79'); Man (Camara from 65'), Sohm (Cancellieri from 75'), Mihaila (Almqvist from 65'); Bonny (from 65' Bonny). All. Pecchia Fiorentina: (3-4-2-1): Terracciano, Quarta (from 60' Parisi), Pongracic, Comuzzo (from 73' Kayode), Dodò, Mandragora (from 73' Bianco), Amrabat, Biraghi, Colpani (from 60' Ikoné), Kouamé (from 79' Sottil), Kean. All. Palladino Scorers: Man (22'), Biraghi (75'). Note - Yellow cards: Pongracic, Estevez, Balogh, Circati. Expelled: Pongracic (double yellow).