Another tie.

By: salvatore | April 7th, 2008

Well, the encounter with Parma was never going to be an easy affair, and yesterday’s partially exciting match proved that theory. I say “partially exciting” because aside from the fact that four goals were scored in the first half, it was mostly a listless, sloppy affair (especially in the second, a half that involved a lot of hanging on, and hanging on).

In any case, Cuper’s boys are a better team than their position in the table indicates, particularly on the attack, and considering it was the first match at the Tardini since the accidental death of a Parma fan, I’ll gladly take the point.

Here then is the Good, the Bad and the Ugly from yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Parma:

THE GOOD:

1) Rolando Bianchi. As always, he ran like a demon and held the ball up well. More importantly though, he scored an absolute beauty from outside the box, and then nearly pulled off an equally impressive tally from a bad angle in the second half. If he can play like this for the remainder of the season, I think his (inflated) price-tag might be a bit easier to accept.

2) Muslera. Sure, he was ass raped against Milan this year, and yes, he’s probably not ready to be a regular Serie A starter, but he does continue to show potential. Neither of the goals were his fault, and he made at least two game-saving stops.

3) Zauri got some playing time yesterday, replacing Behrami at right back. Whether or not his entry improved the team is debatable, but after two and half months, it’s good to have him back.

Zauri

The BAD:

1) Without Dabo, our midfield’s passing was very sloppy, and half the time they looked either clueless or drunk (or both). As hard as he works, Mudingayi is not a good replacement for Ousmane, and we don’t really have anyone else to step in for him, which explains the rumors linking us with every midfielder in Argentina and France.

2) Radu and Cribari . No one can fault Cribari’s courage or heart, but this was not a strong performance. The question is, was it just a one off on his end, or is the partnership with Radu just not workable?

3) Tommaso Balboa. I love the son of a bitch, but he was pretty damn near invisible yesterday.

Parma

THE UGLY:

1) The defending on the first Parma goal. In case you missed it, Igor Budan could have driven a Limo, two tanks and a camel caravan through the hole in our central defense (slight exaggeration there, for effect).

2) The defending on the second Parma goal. I like Kolarov a lot, but the way he let his mark get in for that header left a whole lot to be desired.

3) Lazio’s away “form”. Put simply, this team sucks ass on the road.

Here are the highlights: