Serie A: Como Crumbles in Frosinone, Parma Defeats Genoa, and De Rossi Faces Trouble
Cesc Fabregas’s Como suffered its first league loss, falling 2-0 to Frosinone at Stirpe Stadium in one of the matches on Matchday 5 of Serie A. Alvini’s surprising team, which owes a debt of gratitude to its outstanding goalkeeper Palmisani, ties Como for fifth place in the standings with 10 points following this victory.
In the other 3:00 p.m. match, Parma defeated Genoa 2-1 at the Tardini, securing its first win of the season. For Genoa, however, this marks their fourth loss in their first five matches, and Daniele De Rossi’s job as head coach is already in question.
Frosinone-Como 2-0
14′ Calò (F), 45′ Kvernadze (C)
The two teams went at each other head-on, and Frosinone goalkeeper Palmisani put on a show right from the opening minutes: in the 4th minute, he made a decisive save against Douvikas, then was helped by the post on another shot by the Como forward. In the 14th minute, the home team takes the lead with a splendid play set up by Schmid and finished by Calò.
Como tries to respond, but Frosinone comes close to scoring a second goal on several occasions; Butez denies Raimondo. In the 43rd minute, Palmisani made a perfect save on Nico Paz’s header, and in the 45th minute, Alvini’s team doubled their lead: Kvernadze beat Butez on a counterattack following an assist from Schmid.
In the second half, Fabregas shook things up by bringing in Ricci, Rodriguez, and Kean for Da Cunha, Baturina, and Douvikas, but it wasn’t Como’s day: Palmisani proved unbeatable, making saves against Nico Paz, Kean, and Rodriguez, and on a counterattack, Frosinone nearly scored a third goal through Raimondo. With Como running out of steam as time ran out, Frosinone took the three points and cemented its status as the surprise team—along with Cagliari—of this early season.
Parma-Genoa 2-1
38′ Romero (P), 70′ Osmajic (G), 80′ Almqvist (P)
A rather tight first half was decided by a gem from Romero: in the 39th minute, the Parma forward shook off Ostigard and, from the edge of the box, beat Bijlow with a precise right-footed shot.
In the second half, Genoa stepped up the pressure, creating two clear chances through Messias, and in the 70th minute, they equalized through Osmajic, who, after receiving a long pass, beat an inattentive Corvi one-on-one to make it 1-1. The home team regained the lead ten minutes later, however: in the 80th minute, Almqvist, set up by Elphege, beat Marcandalli to make it 2-1.
In the closing minutes, De Rossi brought on Traoré and Vitinha for the Grifone’s final push: the visitors had a flurry of chances in stoppage time, but the score remained unchanged.
