Tough game, as nerve wrecking as they come.
We had it tough in the first half specifically. Despite us domination possesion, Parma was the more dangerous side and had the best of chances. Thus they scored early on. We had trouble getting into the match and we looked very stale. Especially upfront we had trouble getting into the game, Zalayeta and Trezeguet upfront was too one-dimensional. Even Vieira and even more so Camoranesi didn't do too well in the first half. Camo had a yellow card, seemed annoyed and made mistakes. Though luckily Camoranesi turned it all around and scored a moral boosting wonder-goal at the stroke of half time.
Capello made a smart substitution, bringing on Emerson in the second half. Immediately the midfield balance was shifted in our favour. Vieira and Camoranesi looked much better as well. We played with a lot more width than in the first half with Camoranesi and Mutu actively troubling Parma. Though the difference in the end, was also Zlatan's entrance. After some abysmal first touches early on, a touch of class by Zlatan gave Vieira an easy chance to convert. The game was in the bag.
The defence looked good overall. I was glad to see Thuram back, despite Kovac performing well too. Pessotto wasn't crap at all(Swag), he was very active and made some excellent interceptions. Though Pesso might've been at fault when Parma scored, as I think he should've been marking Delvecchio. Zambrotta was Zambrotta and looked very involved in both defence and attack. Had a great cross for a Camo header in the second half.
The midfield looked quite shabby in the first half. Vieira slow with his decisions, Mutu trying too hard, Giannichedda not involved enough and Camoranesi making many mistakes. Second half was a different story all together though, as Vieira was penetrative, Emerson smart, Mutu lively and Camoranesi dangerous. Nedved specialy, though he simply is such an attacking presence.
Upfront it wasn't impressive. Trez, not involved and missed some good chances. Zalayeta tried, but couldn't make an impression. Luckily Zlatan, opposite to my expectation, was important.
All in all, we did well to fight back from 1-0 down and to recover from a bad first half.
I'm starting to like Capello's 4-4-2, as when it's used correctly it offers much width, which in turn gives more room for Vieira's runs. Talking about Vieira, he seems to be the box to box player and Emerson purely defensive. At the start of the season, I would've expected it the other way around.
If Capello is going to use Mutu on the left regularly, i'm convinced he'll get better and better. Though Nedved shouldn't be counted out yetl, he could be used rotatingly with Mutu. Mutu in midfield might be the best option anyway, as we lack wing cover otherwise and we have plenty of strikers.
We should be alright against Inter next week.
Any comments?