Parma and Monza shared the points at Ennio Tardini on Saturday. The Serie A regular season opener ended 1:1 after two halves of cautious football.
Jay Robinson opened the scoring just before the break. His 38th-minute finish caught the defence unmarked, and Parma took the lead into the interval.
Coach made three changes at half-time. Diego Carlos, Christian Ordóñez and Giovanni Fabbian came on together. By then, the match had settled into a pattern neither side wanted to break.
Simone Lontani equalised in the 60th minute. His goal came from a well-worked move, and Monza found a way back into the game.
The statistics tell a story of different approaches. Parma held 46 per cent possession but created just 0.7 expected goals. Monza dominated with 54 per cent possession and 1.7 expected goals, yet could only find the net once.
Both teams sit on one point after three games. Parma occupy 15th place, Monza 16th. The gap remains tight at the bottom of the table.
We had given Parma the win at 79 per cent confidence. The match had other ideas. And here's the thing — Monza's higher expected goals suggested they were creating more, even if the scoreboard didn't reflect it fully.
