Fiorentina insist ‘not a wasted opportunity’ with Parma 0-0 draw | OneFootball

Raffaele Palladino’s assistant manager Stefano Citterio insists Fiorentina’s draw with Parma was not a ‘wasted opportunity’ in the race for European qualification.

This should’ve been a huge chance for the Viola to close up on the other contenders, seeing as Atalanta beat Bologna and this evening there is Lazio vs. Roma.

However, they did precious little to get the better of Parma at the Stadio Franchi, failing to get a single shot on target in the first half of this 0-0 draw.

Coach Palladino sat out a touchline ban, so had to watch from the stands of the Stadio Franchi and sent assistant Citterio to the press conference room.

“I wouldn’t call it a wasted opportunity, because we moved up the table and it is still wide open,” he told reporters.

“We wanted to win, obviously, but these are dangerous fixtures and Parma were coming off a great performance to draw with Inter last week. We knew it would be difficult and I’d say the draw is the right result, but it does not damage our journey.

“Now we must turn over a new leaf, focus on the Conference League, and after that get back to doing well in Serie A too.”

Fiorentina not new to disappointing results

FLORENCE, ITALY – APRIL 13: Stefano Citterio vice-manager of ACF Fiorentina looks on during the Serie A match between Fiorentina and Parma at Stadio Artemio Franchi on April 13, 2025 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Perhaps the strain of playing the Conference League quarter-final away to NK Celje on Thursday evening rather dulled their performance, especially with Robin Gosens and Andrea Colpani still out of action.

On the other hand, this is not the first time that Fiorentina have raised their game for the big fixtures, only to struggle against smaller, more defensive opponents.

“I don’t want to look for alibis. We could’ve done better in the first half, while Parma also deserve credit for not allowing us to develop moves the way we wanted to,” continued Citterio.

“It was a bit better after the break, they clammed up and we could’ve been sharper in the finishing, but the lads wanted to win today.”

Palladino’s assistant manager was asked by Fiorentina kept January signing Nicolò Zaniolo on the bench and did not call upon him when trying to break down a defensive team.

“We didn’t want to get too unbalanced today, as Parma deserve respect. They had three strikers on in the final stages, so it was a risk we’d get caught on the counter-attack. We passed it around well, but lacked precision in the final ball.

“This was a good point to pick up, even if we wanted three, but we still have a good chance of achieving our objectives.”