Serie A | Parma 0-0 Udinese: Everybody unhappy in relegation battle
PARMA, ITALY - OCTOBER 28: Franco Carboni of Parma Calcio competes for the ball with James Abankwah of Udinese Calcio during the Serie A match between Parma Calcio and Udinese Calcio at Stadio Ennio Tardini on October 28, 2026 in Parma, Italy. (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images)
A point apiece does little to boost either side, but while Parma saw a penalty saved, Udinese had by far the most chances to win in this relegation dogfight.
This was an unexpectedly tense situation for both clubs, locked together on just four points after eight rounds. Alberto Gilardino lost all three games in charge since taking over from Carlos Cuesta, but the only remaining absentee was Nesta Elphege after having his appendix taken out. There was a change in goal, Giovanni Daffara given his Serie A debut.
The Friulani lost six on the bounce and coach Kosta Runjaic was hanging by a thread. Nicolò Zaniolo made his return to the field last week in a 2-0 defeat to Milan, but Oumar Solet, Alessandro Zanoli, David Alaba, Vakoun Bayo and Idrissa Gueye were still struggling with fitness issues.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
Zaniolo almost scored in his first start for well over a month, as he juggled the ball with a bit of skill and then bent the curling finish inches past the far top corner.
The visitors threatened repeatedly, as Hassane Kamara fired just wide after good work from Keinan Davis, while Jesper Karlstrom also drilled not far off target.
Udinese had strong penalty appeals rejected after Mariano Troilo and Davis got into a wrestling match in the six-yard box with the cross coming in.
Franco Carboni couldn’t keep his header down on the Sascha Britschgi cross, while Nicolò Bertola’s deflected effort forced Daffara into a tricky save at full stretch.
Udinese continued to have the better of the game and on the hour mark Troilo flung himself in the path of a Davis strike from 12 yards, deflecting it inches wide with Daffara beaten.
Parma were gifted an opportunity to take the lead when Maduka Okoye fumbled a corner and the Troilo shot was charged down by James Abankwah’s arm. However, Adrian Bernabé stepped up and saw his penalty parried by Okoye, making up for the earlier error.
Udinese pushed to the end, as Jurgen Ekkelenkamp had come sliding in to meet the cross from five yards and beat the goalkeeper, but Troilo got back for a decisive goal-line clearance.
Moments later, Daffara denied Unai Gomez from point-blank range at the back post.
Saved penalty: Bernabé 69 (P)
1st half
2nd half
| Adrián Bernabé |  |
69' | ||
| Simone Lontani |  |
81' | ||
| 81' | Nicolò Zaniolo |
Parma
Udinese
30
Goalkeeper
72
Defender
15
Defender
29
Defender
60'
37
Defender
27
Defender
86'
10
Midfielder
74'
9
Midfielder
60'
16
Midfielder
4
Midfielder
19
Attacker
74'
40
Goalkeeper
27
Defender
11
Defender
71'
14
Defender
16
Defender
13
Defender
63'
30
Midfielder
83'
8
Midfielder
71'
32
Midfielder
10
Midfielder
84'
9
Attacker
41
Midfielder
22
Goalkeeper
40
Goalkeeper
34
Defender
3
Defender
8
Midfielder
32
Midfielder
47
Midfielder
7
Attacker
25
Attacker
14
Defender
60'
20
Attacker
60'
80
Midfielder
74'
76
Attacker
74'
11
Attacker
86'
93
Goalkeeper
4
Midfielder
6
Midfielder
91
Attacker
41
Goalkeeper
45
Attacker
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.