In this afternoon’s third-place battle between the Primavera and their counterparts Spezia, Fabio Grosso’s troops were narrowly beaten 1-0 during a closely-fought encounter in Liguria.
Following 85 minutes of a cagey meeting where both teams really did not want to lose, up popped Sadiq Umar to slam home the winner for the hosts as they opened up a four-point gap over the Bianconeri in the standings.
Parma now have the opportunity to overtake Juventus in the league but need to overcome table-topping Fiorentina in order to do so, a result which would prove their credentials in the title race as the season starts to gather pace.
The Primavera will look to put the disappointments of today’s outing behind them and get back to winning ways when they face Trapani on Sunday 1 February in Ivrea.