PARMA – Nerazzurri skipper Andrea Ranocchia stepped up to the cameras following the match against Parma at the Stadio Tardini.

He said: “Conceding in the opening minutes made it tougher for us. We were on top for long spells but couldn’t find the breakthrough. They battened down the hatches and we couldn’t find a way through. When you concede a goal everyone’s to blame. We came into this on the back of three positive displays. It’s a shame because we could have closed the gap on those ahead of us.”

In any case the squad is focused on the next obstacle, which comes in the shape of the Europa League on Thursday. “We’ll concentrate on Saint-Etienne now and try to get the points needed to sew up qualification to the next round. We’re short on numbers but hopefully we’ll be able to get a few people fit again. We’ll try to work even harder in training and as always we’ll give it everything we’ve got.”

Finally, Ranocchia commented on the whistles directed at the team: “It’s character-building. Obviously it’s easier to play to the sound of applause but sometimes the whistles help you to react.”

 

 

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PARMA – Walter Mazzarri naturally wasn’t satisfied after the defeat against Parma, which highlighted Inter’s difficulty in finding the sort of consistency needed to move up to the next level.

“Obviously everything looks bad when you lose 2-0. We got punished on the first cross by an aggressive Parma side that closed down all the spaces and made it hard to play.

“We weren’t tidy today and changing formation didn’t help us either in that respect, but we still created a few chances. If there’s one thing I can say it’s that we’re never able to make that definitive step up to the next level. That’s what we want to be aiming for.”

Is fatigue an issue? “It was our fifth game in a row and, yes, there was some tiredness out there but we can do better, as we did against Napoli, Cesena and Sampdoria. That first chance changed the result and it knocked our confidence too. We need to improve our mentality.”

Is Palacio a worry? “He’s a bit further behind the rest having come back with his ankle messed up and he’s still not in great shape now. Hernanes isn’t great either and I forced things a bit with him today. We’re in the midst of an injury crisis and we weren’t capable of maintaining the same level as in the three previous games.”

What needs to change? “If we want to go back to challenging at the top we need to improve mentally.”

Would you do anything differently with hindsight? “In all honesty I think that in our current situation, with a team that did as well as it did against Sampdoria, all you can do is stick with the same side. I honestly didn’t have any alternatives.

“Bonazzoli and Camara also got a runout today and they’re two youngsters who could come in handy in the future.”

 

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PARMA – Inter slipped to defeat away to Parma as De Ceglie’s brace proved to be the difference at the Stadio Tardini.

The hosts started on the front foot with the home crowd behind them and broke the deadlock five minutes into the game. Rispoli carried the ball down the right wing before sending over a cross that found De Ceglie in the six-yard box, allowing the full-back to steer past Handanovic.

Five minutes later Parma got forward again. Acquah received the ball in a shooting position following Cassano’s dummy, only to fire over.

That sparked the Nerazzurri into life and at the end of a long move Dodo wriggled his way into space on the left and floated a long delivery towards the far post; Obi met it with a diving header but Lucarelli and Mirante combined to block his effort on the line.

There was another chance for Inter midway through the half when Medel picked out Kuzmanovic’s run but the Serbian could only nod wide weakly.

Lodi’s ball found Cassano in the 31st minute and the ex-Inter man went for the shot: it deflected off Vidic, spinning inches wide of Handanovic’s left-hand upright.

First-half proceedings came to a close with the Nerazzurri on the attack. Palacio got to the byline and hit a lofted delivery towards the far side, Obi rose well and knocked down looking for a team-mate but found no one, allowing the Parma rearguard to clear their lines.

Inter continued their hunt for an equaliser after the break with Kovacic stepping up a gear. The No.10 played a delightful ball into the path of Kuzmanovic, with the Serbian midfielder just beaten to it. The Croat then played in Icardi but the Argentine failed to get any power on his shot.

Kovacic was in no mood for giving up though and soon afterwards he won the ball superbly in midfield and laid off for Hernanes. The Brazilian burst forward with the ball before threading it through for Icardi, who centred for Palacio, but El Trenza was caught off balance and skied his effort.

On 70 minutes Kovacic went for goal himself following a neat exchange with Hernanes: this time it was the post that denied the Nerazzurri a leveller.

Six minutes later Parma landed the knockout blow. Cassano fired goalwards from the edge of the box and it bounced off Medel landing at the feet of De Ceglie, who was free to sidefoot home his second of the night.

The match ended with another chance for De Ceglie (89) and an injury-time effort by Ranocchia from Camara’s cross, the Guinean winger having just come on for his first-team debut. Fellow youngster Bonazzoli also made a lively substitute appearance in what was his first outing of the campaign.

The result sees Inter miss out on the chance to join Napoli in third place but attentions now quickly turn to Thursday’s Europa League trip to Saint-Étienne, when the Nerazzurri could book their spot in the knockout stages.

 

Parma 2-0 Inter (HT 1-0)
Scorers: De Ceglie 5, 76.

Parma: 83 Mirante; 15 Costa, 19 Felipe (27 Santacroce, 52), 6 Lucarelli; 11 De Ceglie (18 Gobbi, 90), 8 Mauri, 21 Lodi, 30 Acquah, 33 Rispoli; 99 Cassano, 88 Coda (5 Ghezzal, 18).
Subs not used: 22 Iacobucci, 92 Coric, 4 Mendes, 13 Ristovski, 17 Palladino, 31 Mariga, 40 Sarr, 44 Jeraldino, 70 Lucas.
Coach: Roberto Donadoni.

Inter: 1 Handanovic; 23 Ranocchia, 15 Vidic, 5 Juan Jesus; 20 Obi (88 Hernanes, 51), 10 Kovacic, 18 Medel (29 Camara, 89), 17 Kuzmanovic (97 Bonazzoli, 73), 22 Dodo; 8 Palacio, 9 Icardi.
Subs not used: 30 Carrizo, 46 Berni, 6 Andreolli, 25 Mbaye, 27 Gnoukouri, 28 Puscas, 44 Krhin, 54 Donkor.
Coach: Walter Mazzarri.

Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Bologna).
Booked: Costa 12, Lucarelli 18, Mirante 70, Dodo 85.
Added time: 3+4 minutes.

 

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PARMA – Nerazzurri sporting director Piero Ausilio spoke to Sky Sport Italia before kick-off in tonight’s match between Parma and Inter.

He began by commenting on the Nerazzurri’s recent form: “We’ve put together a little run thanks to some good performances. We’ve put points on the board by playing well, with grit and determination.”

Ausilio then responded to a question on Palacio: “I’m not worried about his form. I know what a good player he is and he’s always scored goals. I also know how he began the season: he didn’t start training properly until September because of his ankle problem. I’m sure he’ll come good.”

 

 

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