Parma manager Carlos Cuesta commended his players for their "incredible sacrifice and team spirit" after securing a 1-1 draw against Napoli, stating, "We'll take the point."

Parma got off to a dream start at the Stadio Tardini. In a surprising move, Nesta Elphege set up Gabriel Strefezza with a flick from a long Zion Suzuki ball, who scored just 33 seconds into the match.

Despite being under pressure for extended periods, Parma's defense, marshaled by Scott McTominay, rarely allowed Napoli dangerous shots, ultimately holding them to a 1-1 tie.

"I want to thank my players for all their hard work on the field, and also the incredible support from the fans, who gave us the strength to push harder and reach the ball first," Cuesta told DAZN Italia.

"We aimed to make the fans happy with a win, which we didn't achieve, but we'll gladly take the point. We are here to defend the Parma shirt with honor, knowing our objective is not yet met, but we are all in this together."

This result marks the third consecutive draw between Parma and Napoli. It prevented Antonio Conte from securing his sixth straight Serie A victory and potentially aided Cuesta's predecessor, Cristian Chivu, at Inter, in the Scudetto race.

The draw also provides Parma with breathing room from the relegation zone, as they now sit nine points clear of the bottom three.

"From the first day I arrived, I stated I had no specific expectations, only the desire to raise the bar. We are aware there are six games remaining, and we must continue to push. I witnessed incredible sacrifice, defensive effort, and team spirit; everyone supported each other to achieve the result as a collective," the former Arsenal assistant manager added.

"We understand that at times we must adapt to the match's circumstances. Typically, we prefer to possess the ball more and stay in the opponent's half, but we give our best in every situation."

Elphege's inclusion for his first Serie A start, filling in for the suspended Mateo Pellegrino, proved impactful with his early assist. "He's a good lad, well-liked by everyone. It was a very positive performance. We can't expect him to simply replace Pellegrino, as they have different strengths, but we hope he can achieve more consistency in the future," explained Cuesta.

Late in the game, there were penalty appeals when Leonardo Spinazzola's shot struck teammate Alessandro Buongiorno's arm. However, the referee deemed the arm position to be natural.

"I haven't seen the replay, but we were informed it wasn't a penalty," Cuesta concluded.

English Translation:

Cuesta Praises Parma's Incredible Sacrifice and Spirit in 1-1 Draw with Napoli

Parma coach Carlos Cuesta hailed his team’s ‘incredible sacrifice and team spirit’ in their hard-fought 1-1 draw with Napoli. “We’ll take the point,” he stated.

Parma enjoyed a perfect start at the Stadio Tardini when an unexpected starter, Nesta Elphege, flicked on a long Zion Suzuki ball for Gabriel Strefezza to score after just 33 seconds.

Despite being pinned back for significant portions of the game, Parma’s defense, anchored by Scott McTominay’s low drives, rarely forced difficult saves, holding Napoli to the 1-1 draw.

“I want to thank my players for all the hard work they do on the field, but also the incredible help from the fans, who gave us the strength to run that extra bit to get to the ball first,” Cuesta told DAZN Italia.

“We wanted to make the fans happy with a victory, we didn’t manage it, but we’ll take the point. We are here to defend the Parma shirt with honour and know we have not achieved our objective yet, but we’re all in this together.”

This is the third consecutive draw between Parma and Napoli, denying Antonio Conte a sixth Serie A victory in a row and potentially impacting the Scudetto race for Cuesta’s predecessor, Cristian Chivu, at Inter.

The result also moves the Ducali further away from the relegation zone, as they now sit nine points clear of the bottom three.

“I said from the first day I arrived that I didn’t have expectations, I just wanted to raise the bar. We know there are six games to go, but we’ve got to keep pushing. I saw incredible sacrifice, defending, team spirit, everyone helps each other out to bring home the result as a team,” continued the former Arsenal assistant manager.

“We know that at times we must adapt to the context of the match; usually we prefer to keep more of the ball and stay in the opposition half, but we do our best.”

Elphege was an unexpected choice for his first Serie A start, stepping in for the suspended Mateo Pellegrino, and made an immediate impact with his assist. “He’s a good lad, everyone likes him, it was a very positive performance and we cannot ask him to simply replace Pellegrino, as they have different characteristics, but we hope he can have more consistency in future,” explained Cuesta.

There were penalty appeals late on when Leonardo Spinazzola kicked the ball onto the arm of teammate Alessandro Buongiorno, but it was evaluated as being in a natural position.

“I haven’t seen the footage, but they told us it was not a penalty,” noted Cuesta.