Parma 0-3 Torino: a Giovanni Simeone brace sinks a side that had more shots on target
Giovanni Simeone scored either side of a Ché Adams header, both goals set up by Rafik Belghali, as Torino won 0-3 at the Stadio Ennio Tardini — despite Parma finishing with more shots on target, more corners and more of the ball.
Four minutes in, Giovanni Simeone was already running away to celebrate. Rafik Belghali's pass found him for the opener, Ché Adams headed in a second before the half-hour, and Simeone added his own second from another Belghali assist in the second half. 0-3 to Torino at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, and the scoreline undersold how little separated the two sides everywhere except the only column that counts.
A scoreline that argues with the stats
Parma had 51.1% of the possession, eight shots on target to Torino's three, six corners to Torino's two, and conceded only seven fouls against Torino's sixteen. On paper, it reads like a home side that controlled the game. On the scoreboard, it is a 0-3 defeat — Torino's clinical finishing against a Parma side that could not turn its own share of the chances into goals.
Simeone's double extends a reliable habit
Giovanni Simeone, the 31-year-old Argentine forward, scored 11 goals in 32 Serie A appearances for Torino last season, and this brace is exactly the kind of return the club has come to expect from him in front of goal. Both of his finishes here came from the same source, Rafik Belghali, who had a hand in two-thirds of Torino's goals on the night.
Different directions in the table
Parma had gone into the round 16th with 4 points from six games, level on points with Monza and Udinese among the division's strugglers. This defeat does not move that points total, but it is Parma's fourth loss in their last six league matches, with a solitary win over Genoa the only break in the run. Torino, 13th with 7 points from six games before kick-off, arrived on better recent form — a win and a draw in their previous two — and leave having beaten Parma by three clear goals, the biggest margin either side has recorded this season.
Scorers
- 4' — Giovanni Simeone (Torino), assisted by Rafik Belghali
- 24' — Ché Adams (Torino, header)
- 69' — Giovanni Simeone (Torino), assisted by Rafik Belghali
Match facts
| Stat | Parma | Torino |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 51.1% | 48.9% |
| Shots on target | 8 | 3 |
| Accurate passes | 384/461 (83.3%) | 377/452 (83.4%) |
| Corners | 6 | 2 |
| Fouls committed | 7 | 16 |
| Offsides | 2 | 3 |
| Yellow cards | 3 | 2 |
Line-ups
| Team | Starting XI |
|---|---|
| Parma (3-4-2-1) | Corvi; Troilo, Del Prato, Diego Carlos; Keita, Bernabé, Valeri, Britschgi; Romero, Toure; Fabbian |
| Torino (3-5-2) | Perri; Ismajli, Comuzzo, Coco; Bragança, Vlasic, Mandragora, Cacciamani, Belghali; Simeone, Adams |
What's next
Torino head into the next round with the kind of away win that puts distance between themselves and the bottom of the table, while Parma stay stuck in the cluster of clubs on 4 points that also includes Monza and Udinese — three teams separated only by goal difference near the bottom of the division.
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