Serie B, playoffs; Parma-Cagliari 0-0; goal-no goal by Bonny, the rossoblù go to the final against Bari

Cagliari will challenge Bari in the Serie B playoff final. After winning 3-2 at home last Tuesday, in the return match at the Tardini Ranieri’s men held off (0-0) against Parma who, by virtue of the best placing in the championship, he would have had to win by any result to pass the round. The Sardinians will play their first final match at the Unipol Domus on 8 June and then the return match in Bari on 11 June. Both races will start at 20.30. Parma abandons the dream of returning to Serie A after two years and does so with some regret, complaining about an alleged penalty not granted to them in the first half and then for the unfortunate episode of Bonny’s goal-no goal first given and then taken away in the final by the Var.

Doubtful penalty not granted to Parma, goal disallowed to Lapadula

At the start, Parma risked two shots from outside Azzi and Luvumbo, then fired up and complained about a fall by Sohm in the area under pressure from Dossena. Orsato, a stone’s throw from the episode, allows some doubts to continue without being contradicted by the Var. The Var goes into action in the 36th minute when he has to cancel a goal by Lapadula for offside, who had been good at scoring with a precise left foot after a swerve in the area, picking up a perfect throw from Makoumbou. Cagliari didn’t give up and before the end of the half committed Chichizola again with a right foot from Nandez from a tight angle.

Goal-no goal by Bonny: the Var dampens the scream of the Tardini

In the second half Cagliari, with the entrances of Goldaniga and Altare, switches to a 3-5-2 and defends itself even more carefully. In order to make themselves dangerous, Parma needs the addition of Bonny who, with the first ball played (74′), becomes the protagonist of the yellow of the evening: he bursts in on a cross from the left by Vazquez and forces Radunovic to raise his shot on the crossbar; the ball then hits the line, the post and returns to the field: Orsato initially, upon signaling by the linesman (in B there is no ‘goal line technology’, ed), points to the midfield spot then, upon correction by the Var, removes the net since the ball, as indicated by the ‘goal line camera’, had not completely crossed the goal line.

Zanimacchia’s cross, Cagliari dangerous in the final

The unfavorable episode unleashed the anger of Parma who vehemently closed forward but weren’t lucky: the last chance came in the 85th minute for Zanimacchia whose right-footed shot splintered the crossbar from the edge. In the final minutes, the ducals lost their balance and risked being knocked out twice: first on the counterattack by Luvumbu who kicks at Chichizola and then, on the rebound, sends the ball wide. Finally on a free-kick in full stoppage time by Viola that Chichizola takes away from under the crossroads. However, Cagliari rejoices: the 0-0 draw is worth the ticket for the final.