Early penalty and missed chances haunt Cittadella in defeat to Parma.
On August 26, 2023 by Jake IovineCittadella lost their first match of their 2023/24 Serie B season on Saturday night, falling to Parma 2-0 at the Stadio Ennio Tardini.
Both teams entered the game after winning their respective home openers. Parma couldn’t have started the match any better, earning a penalty 15 seconds into the match following a collision between Elhan Kastrati and Anthony Partipilo. On the first play of the game, Adrian Benedyczak buried his penalty into the corner.
Despite the early goal conceded, Cittadella responded well and almost got the game tying goal in the opening half. The Granata had 58% possession in the first 45 minutes, while tallying a total 11 shots and an incredible tally of 8 corners.
Just like in the first half, Cittadella fell behind early to a Parma goal after halftime. Following a nifty turn by Tjas Begic, the Slovenian found substitute Adrian Bernabe at the top of the box, and slotted home the game’s second goal three minutes after the restart.
The goal sucked the energy from Cittadella, as Edoardo Gorini’s team were much less threatening in the second half. In the entire game, Cittadella had a total of 19 shots, but failed to put any of them on frame.
The Granata will try to recover from the defeat on Wednesday where they’ll travel south to play Bari at the Stadio San Nicola.
Top Photo: AS Cittadella