AC Milan Stumble Once More at Parma

Milan manager Massimo Allegri after his side gave up the equalizer (Getty Images)

If you like your football played in driving rain and puddles on your pitches, this was the match for you.  Parma hosted AC Milan in nearly monsoon like conditions yesterday in Serie A action.  The struggling giants were the first get on the board in the second half, but a defensive lapse gave the home side the chance they needed to salvage a needed point.

The conditions really were deplorable as the two sides kicked off and struggled to find their legs in the early minutes.  Neither side seemed like they were going to create a lot of clear cut chances, but the first of the match fell to Milan on 14 minutes as Kevin Prince Boateng sent in a low shot along the soaking surface.  It was a little tricky, but Parma 'keeper Antonio Mirante handled it well without giving up a rebound.

While Milan had the ball for the better part of the first half, Parma were able to create a couple of half chances or their own.  Their best looking chance of the half came on 26 minutes when an AC Milan defender was able to get in and block Carvalho Amauri's header.

Despite the conditions, Milan nearly took the lead right before halftime.  In the 42nd minute Bojan set up just outside of the box and drove a shot at Parma's goal.  Unfortunately for Milan, the shot just barely skimmed over the crossbar and the sides went to the break still level at 0-0.

The second half belonged to Milan though.  They came out absolutely on fire, led for the most part by Stephan El Shaarawy.   In the 50th minute the young midfielder took a pass from Bojan on the left side of the box and drove a shot past a diving Mirante to finally give Milan the 1-0 lead.

Milan continued to press their advantage as the rain started to lighten up in Parma.  Just two minutes after the goal Bojan sent a cross into the center of the box, where it met the head of Kevin Prince Boateng.  Despite the fact that he was totally unmarked, Boateng sent his header wide of the mark.  He would try his luck on 58 minutes but Mirante came up big and saved his effort on target.

Finally in the 66th minute Parma made Milan pay for failing to convert those chances.  The Rossoneri conceded a free kick right outside of their box and Daniele Galloppa stepped up to take for Parma.  He hit it low, and Milan's wall broke.  The ball slid into to the unguarded Milan post to tie the match at 1-1, which would be the score at full time.

The draw keeps both teams currently mired in midtable with Milan 11th on 7 points and Parma 14th on 6.  Milan will feel like they should have left Parma with all three points though, as the goal that they ended up conceding was from a dumb foul and totally avoidable.

Italian Match Thoughts: Parma vs. AS Roma

The first half of this match was a total snoozer. Literally. I had a hard time staying awake. The only two decent chances of the half came in the first 11 minutes. Roma had some nice development play early, and it culminated in a shooting chance for Angel in the 2nd minute. However, he hit it over the bar. Parma had their best chance in the 11th minute when Lucarelli got his head on the ball, but saw his shot also float harmlessly overt the bar.

The half time result was 0-0.

Finally in the 50th minute Roma got on the board. Osvaldo took a nice cross and headed it down, back across the goal into the bottom far post corner to make it 0-1 to Roma. This had the effect of finally opening the match up a little since Parma was now forced to chase the equalizer on their own home pitch.

They should have gotten it too. In the 72nd minute Biabiany came sprinting up the Roma left and had a great look at goal, pretty much a sure thing. He blased the shot wide though, much to the dismay of his two teammates that had made runs into the 18 and could have easily tapped it home had he passed.

After that Jadid tricked a shot just wide off of a Parma corner, but that was all she wrote. Roma took the 0-1 win, and it becomes the first victory for new manager Luis Enrique