Parma, 27 October 2024 - Head Coach Fabio Pecchia shared his thoughts after the draw against Empoli, on Matchday Nine of Serie A.
'I'm not going to disregard the first hour. We faced a difficult side, we knew that, and they were difficult to break down. Even in the first half we created chances, we hit the bar again, there were a lot of dangerous situations when managing the game. Empoli were brilliant, when they went ahead, they shored up their defence really well. I am happy, even though there is this sense of bitterness because we deserved to win the match. In the end we deserved to win, especially when you think that these sort of games can be easily lost. We went behind in the game but then in the second half we found greater control of the pitch straight away. We piled on the pressure and in the end the draw is deserved. The penalty wasn't the only chance, there were many in the final passages of play. I think we showed great character, the group have to keep on going and pushing, because it isn't straightforward. We're showing continuity, but the goal is to win games and ultimately we're just falling short of that. Today is a sign to the group, something I've said for two years, I need everyone, everyone together and when we have these sort of games with these contributions, the squad becomes a lot more competitive.'