Inter Milan Serie A Title Hopes Scuppered By Parma

Of all the Serie A football results from the weekend in Italy, no doubt the most shocking was Inter Milan's surprise 2-0 defeat at the hands of Parma, a club that is scraping the bottom of the Serie A barrel and attempting to fend off relegation.

Inter Milan, who won the last five Serie A championships and are third in the standings, had an outside chance to make it six in a row, as long as they won their remaining games and rivals and current Serie A leaders AC Milan lost or tied a game or two.

However, by losing out on three points after being beaten by a side that on paper they should have dominated, Inter Milan is all but out of the title race, as AC Milan won their match 3-0 against Sampdoria, to give themselves yet another three-point buffer.

Ahead of Saturday's game, even the predominantly Parma fans expected Inter Milan to dominate their team from the outset. Which is why most were pleasantly surprised when Parma started the first half as the more aggressive, controlled and organized team.

So impressive were Parma, that they foiled most of Inter Milan's attacks. In fact, the closest the visitors came to scoring was thanks to two long distance kicks from midfielder Dejan Stankovic, one of which struck a post and the second of which was saved.

Parma were eventually rewarded for their tactical and level-headed play in the 35th minute when winger Sebastian Giovinco scored after receiving a tremendous pass from Francesco Modesto, who picked up an equally superb pass from Cristiano Zaccardo.

That goal, which put Parma 1-0 ahead, showcased just how cohesively the club was playing, begging the question of why it's taken so long this season for Parma to put their best foot forward. That said, Inter Milan were certainly not displaying their A game.

In the second half, Inter Milan tightened their bootstraps, but were still unable to break through Parma's defenses and equalise. And with time running out, their worst fears came true when Parma scored their second goal in the 86th minute, courtesy of Amauri.

Here are the complete Serie A results from the weekend: