Parma down to ten from minute nine, Bologna win 2-1

Bologna beat Parma 2-1 after Parma lost a player to a red card in the ninth minute, and the chances tell a story of their own.

Parma lost Abdoulaye Niakhate Ndiaye in the ninth minute, when a VAR check turned his booking into a straight red card, and from then on they were a man short at the Ennio Tardini. Every figure in this match has to be read with that in mind. Bologna still had to win with a full side against ten, and they did, 2-1, but the shape of the afternoon is more interesting than the scoreline.

Bologna finished with 70% of the ball, against the 47% they usually keep in away games, and they took 33 shots, where their away average is 11.4. Possession is simply the share of time each side spends with the ball. Parma had 30% of it, down from the 41% they usually keep at home.

Expected goals, a measure that gives each shot a value based on how often chances of that kind go in, put Bologna at 3.77 for the afternoon. Their away average is 1.22. Parma usually concede 1.79 expected goals at home, so Bologna created more than twice the quality of chance that Parma normally allow in their own ground.

Parma were far from passive, though. Their 11 shots were above the 9.3 they average at home, and their expected goals of 1.5 was more than double their usual 0.7. Goalkeeper G. Daffara made eight saves, and after VAR confirmed a penalty for Giovanni Fabbian in the 77th minute, Vincent Sierro scored it at 81.

Bologna's goals came in two different ways. Arthur Theate scored in the 53rd minute from a Nicolo Cambiaghi assist, and a penalty by Federico Bernardeschi was cancelled at 54. VAR then awarded Bologna another penalty at 68, and Riccardo Orsolini converted it at 72. Theate had four shots, two of them on target.

Sierro's penalty was Parma's only goal, and it arrived after Bologna had led by two, which made the closing minutes tense for the home side. Parma's home record now reads two wins, two draws and six defeats, with 8 points from ten matches. Their attack has been productive in patches, and this match showed that even a side a man down can make chances.

Bologna's away record stands at four wins, two draws and four defeats, giving them 14 points from ten matches. They have won four of their last six away games, and this was the first of those wins to come from a match where they were the side with more of the ball by a wide margin.

Player of the matchR. Orsolini1 goal7.8

A. Theate1 goal7.8

N. Cambiaghi1 assist7.7

N. Zortea6 chances created7.2