The match between Parma and Como in the Italian Serie B looked like it was going to be the most boring match I’ve seen this year. Both teams played the first hour without any intensity and felt like it was the first friendly match of the season for both teams. Giuseppe Iachini’s Parma set up in a 3-5-2 against Como’s 3-4-3. The away side was happy to lean back while Parma was trying to create chances but struggled a lot. After 30 minutes Parma took the lead after a nice goal from Franco Vazquez. The second half started of as slow as the first half. But after 70 minutes Parma was suddenly 1-2 down. Substitute Ettore Gliozzi scored twice, giving his side the lead. Parma looked like the beaten side but Adrián Bernabé saved the three points. With two free kicks, he put his team back in the lead in a match that would end in 4-3.
Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Adrián Bernabé
Player profile:
- Nationality: Spanish
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 26/05/2001
- Current club: Parma Calcio 1913
- Career: FC Barcelona (Y), Manchester City, Parma Calcio 1913
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Left
After missing out on the first half of the season because of heart problems Adrian Bernabé is really finding his place in Italy. Last week against Cosenza the 20-year-old played the full 90 minutes for the first time and scored twice and against Como he did the exact same thing. With two beautiful free kicks Bernabé led his team to victory.
The match against Como started very slow with both teams playing a very low tempo. Where almost every player seemed to lack any form of intensity in duels, Adrian Bernabé was one of the only players that looked like he actually wanted to win the game. The Spaniard played as the right-sided central midfielder and was involved in quite a lot of duels. Despite him only being 5’7” tall he still managed to win most of them. He timed his tackles very well and used his body well in more physical duels. On the ball, the Como defenders had a hard time of it. His ability to turn quickly, good agility and balance made him dangerous in 1v1 duels like in the example below. Obviously, he lost the ball a couple of times but in a lot of these situations he showed great work rate and instantly counter-pressed the opponent, with quite some success.
On the ball Adrian Bernabé showed some real quality against Como. The 20-year-old covered a lot of ground for his side, being very active in Parma’s build-up play but also moving up the pitch in attack. Bernabé would often pick up the ball from one of his defenders and then distribute the play forward or to the other side of the pitch. His passing was nearly flawless this game only making one or two actual mistakes with passes that didn’t reach their destination. He kept most of his passes quite simple but very often he was often to play the ball forward. He also showed on an occasion that he is very capable of playing longer passes when he played a lovely through ball down the sideline to one of his teammates.
Bernabé was the man of the match with his two goals but could’ve even scored one or two more in the first half. A right-footed shot from inside the box went just wide of the post and a shot from a bit further out looked like it was going for the top corner but just hit the crossbar.
Rating – A2
Adrian Bernabé is really fun to watch and has some real talent. He is great technically, did well in his duels and has a lovely left foot. If he continues this form I’m curious how long Parma can keep him in the Serie B.
Dennis Man
Player profile:
- Nationality: Romanian
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 26/08/1998
- Current club: Parma Calcio 1913
- Career: Atletico Arad (Y), UTA Arad, FCSB, Parma Calcio 1913
- Position: Right Wing
- Secondary position: Left Wing, Left Wing-back
- Preferred foot: Left
After arriving for 13 million euros from FCSB in January of 2021, Dennis Man hasn’t been the success that Parma hoped him to be. After ten matches this season Man lost his place in the starting XI and when he returned he found his place as the left wing-back. Against Como he filled this role quite decent but Man was one of the players that really lacked some intensity and will to win in some phases of this game. There were some defensive transitions where he just took his time walking back instead of trying to help his team. He also looked quite sloppy at the start of the game playing some sloppy passes and losing the ball by taking a lot too long.
Man looked quite lazy from time to time but when he ‘woke up’ he actually looked like a very solid player for Parma. The 23-year-old Romanian stands at 6’0” tall with quite an athletic build but he barely featured in any physical duels this game. Man was most dangerous with the ball at his feet. He constantly tried to take on his opponent and after two failed attempts he seemed to have cracked the code and was a real nuisance on the left. He would mostly beat his man around the outside, as he didn’t use his right foot that often, and then tried to put in some chipped crosses with mixed success. In the 31st minute one of his crosses deflected off the defender and fell right into Franco Vazquez’ feet who opened to score. Man seemed unstoppable at times and also wasn’t afraid to take the ball inside, still only using his right foot as little as possible. His dribbling looked really strong throughout the match and he was able to quickly change direction with the ball with ease.
Rating – B1
I really feel that Dennis Man has quite some potential to grow but based on this match I really missed some work rate and will to win, as he just looked straight up lazy in some moments.
Adrian Benedyczak
Player profile:
- Nationality: Polish
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 24/11/2000
- Current club: Parma Calcio 1913
- Career: Pogon Stettin, Chrobry Glogow (L), Parma Calcio 1913
- Position: Striker
- Secondary position: Attacking Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Adrian Benedyzcak played as Parma’s left sided striker next to the Northern Macedonian legend Goran Pandev. The Polish 21-year-old had a really tough match not seeing a lot of the ball and barely getting anything created for him. Benedyzcak has quite some physical presence. Standing at 6’2” the 21-year old could still benefit from getting a bit more muscle mass. For his height Benedyzcak looked like he was quite fast, or at least faster than his direct opponents and moved quite easily.
Throughout the match Benedyzcak didn’t get a lot of the ball. I was curious about this so I checked the stats on Wyscout and he only received eleven passes in 77 minutes, which is surprisingly slighly above his average per 90 minutes for Parma. I felt like the Polish striker was fairly active without the ball, moving a lot and trying to drop back slightly to be able to receive the ball. He also made some good runs in behind Como’s defense, coming out of the blind spot of his direct opponent.
The times when Benedyzcak got the ball it also wasn’t easy for him. He often was quite isolated and Como’s defenders weren’t afraid of fouling him. Well timed pushes in his back neutralized him a couple of times and weren’t worthy of a free kick according to the referee. If he had some space Benedyzcak showed good awareness and passing, keeping the ball in his side. In the 50th minute the striker had his only real opportunity to score when the ball was suddenly in front of him in Como’s box. He didn’t really get a lot of power behind the ball though, as his body was positioned quite awkwardly.
Rating – B2
It was an average match from Benedyzcak but he had a really tough role and didn’t get a lot of support from his team, often being isolated. I saw some promising things from him. I think a different formation would benefit him massively.
Alessandro Circati
Player profile:
- Nationality: Italian
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 10/10/2003
- Current club: Parma Calcio 1913
- Career: Perth Glory (Y), Parma Calcio 1913
- Position: Centre Back
- Secondary position: Right Back
- Preferred foot: Right
The 18-year old Alessandro Circati made his 4th Serie B appearance against Como as the right-sided centre back in Parma’s 3-5-2 formation. Circati has the build to be a solid defender standing at 6’2” with a pretty athletic build but really lacked quality against Como. Mainly defensively Circati was just not good enough today. He barely won any of his duels, seemed very slow on the first few meters and lost his direct opponent multiple times. His aerial qualities weren’t really tested as he didn’t have a single aerial duel this match.
In possession, Circati did a fine job though. His passing looked solid throughout the match and he also had some nice long passes. Circati didn’t really seem very technically gifted and could struggle against teams that press him higher as he looked a bit clumsy.
Rating – D
All things considered Alessandro Circati just wasn’t good enough.