Parma coach Roberto D’Aversa acknowledges they are ‘throwing an entire season away and it’s our fault’ after going from 3-2 up to losing 4-3 at Cagliari in stoppages.
This was the last chance saloon for the relegation battle and the Ducali seemed to have all the aces, going 2-0 up, then 3-2 up and leading at the 90th minute.
Instead, as we’ve seen so many times already, Parma threw it away in stoppages.
Parma coach Roberto D’Aversa acknowledges they are ‘throwing an entire season away and it’s our fault’ after going from 3-2 up to losing 4-3 at Cagliari in stoppages.
This was the last chance saloon for the relegation battle and the Ducali seemed to have all the aces, going 2-0 up, then 3-2 up and leading at the 90th minute.
Instead, as we’ve seen so many times already, Parma threw it away in stoppages.
“This defeat will remain unforgettable. It seems impossible we were leading, we had the chance to take the lead again in stoppages and inexplicably lost,” D’Aversa told DAZN.
“We keep having these black-outs that compromise the entire match. A team playing for its life cannot afford to give away these goals and fail to convert these chances.
“We had five defenders in stoppages, but allowed four crosses, so evidently Cagliari did better than us.”
Juraj Kucka went off at half-time with a muscular problem and Parma lost their way after that.
“Kucka is an important player, he gives you experience, character and quality. He had cramp, so did Giuseppe Pezzella. We don’t want to blame those who came off the bench, but the facts show our game got worse when the substitutions started for both teams.
“Cagliari’s players came on and they were more determined, ours came on and we lost control of the match.
“Maybe we just don’t understand what we need to bring home a result. Analysing all the games, even before I arrived, that seems to be the difference.
“When I was here last season, we could go two days and not concede, because we were so determined and gritty that we would lock everything out. You pay for mistakes at this level and we at Parma have to acknowledge we are throwing an entire season away and it’s our fault.”
D’Aversa was questioned on why the Ducali seem so disjointed at times.
“This team can improve in its communication and we knew that already, but it’s an issue also caused by the fact many of these lads are foreign and it’s difficult to make clear the danger quickly enough.
“Having said that, in Serie A you cannot be playing against a side with so many strikers who are strong in the air and allow so many crosses in. You learn as a kid that you have to make it difficult for them to get the cross in or to jump undisturbed, but we made it too easy.
“We cannot allow them to jump like that with such freedom.”
D’Aversa was asked why Gervinho didn’t come on, considering there were so many spaces for Parma to counter.
“Gervinho did not have a single training session this week, while we had three out of five substitutions forced by injuries. I tried to bolster the defence against their power in the air, but it didn’t help.”