Most Popular Sports
All Sports
Show All

Bankrupt Parma floor Serie A leaders Juventus

ByReuters

Updated 11/04/2015 at 18:48 GMT

Bankrupt, bottom-of-the-table Parma, whose players have not been paid all season, pulled off a stunning 1-0 victory over runaway Serie A leaders Juventus on Saturday.

Parma celebrate their goal against Juventus

Image credit: AFP

Midfielder Jose Mauri, 18, scored on the hour as Juventus, 7-0 winners over Parma earlier in the season, suffered only their second league defeat of the campaign.
Even though the leaders rested several players ahead of their Champions League tie with Monaco on Tuesday, it was still a remarkable result for Parma who have only been able to continue in the league thanks to a fund set up by the Italian federation.
Juventus remained 14 points clear at the top and on course for a fourth successive title while Parma, who have had three points deducted for breaching financial regulations, are on 16 points, still five adrift at the bottom.
Parma, who at one stage had to postpone two successive games due to their problems, have taken seven points from their last three outings, but remain 10 points from safety with nine matches left.
Genoa beat one-from-bottom Cagliari 2-0 in another game on Saturday, pushing the Sardinians (21 points) closer to Serie B.
"Today was an important match, but we didn't understand that," said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri on the club's Twitter feed. "We didn't control the match and we deserved the defeat."
Juventus rested striking partners Alvaro Morata and Carlos Tevez along with playmaker Andrea Pirlo, who had recovered from a calf injury but was short of match fitness, while goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon had a stomach virus.
Parma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante kept the hosts in the game in the first half, as he blocked efforts from Roberto Pereyra, Arturo Vidal and Kingsley Coman.
But Parma broke through just after the hour when Ishak Belfodil, always a threat on the break, burst down the right and pulled the ball into the middle for Mauri to sidefoot into the top corner from just inside the area.
There were some bad-tempered exchanges as Juventus pressed for an equaliser, but Parma held out to give coach Roberto Donadoni his first Serie A win over Juve in 10 attempts as a coach.
Join 3M+ users on app
Stay up to date with the latest news, results and live sports
Download
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement