Parma’s shocking start to Serie A Femminile playoffs puts survival in doubt, AS Roma reach UWCL again

If there wasn’t already, there should be serious concern and fear among all those involved with Parma Women that they are going to be dumped into Serie B Femminile at the first time of asking.

Having taken over the license of mid-table Empoli last season, Parma’s first season has not been without its high points but their start to the Survival Pool in the playoff phase of the season has left them wondering where the next points are going to come from.

The latest defeat against Como saw their opponents leapfrog them in the table and means that as things stand, they will be facing off against the second-placed side in Serie B to see who will end up in which division.

Como the latest to take points off Parma

When the regular season ended, Parma had a two-point buffer back to Como. The difference was that of their last five regular-season results, two were wins and one was a draw. It wasn’t fantastic form, but it showed enough to suggest that they can hold their own in the Survival Pool.

Their last game before the split was a defeat and then they have begun the playoff stage with three consecutive losses and, by nature of the split, those have come against the teams around them, meaning they can certainly be considered as out of form.

The split got off to a truly awful start for Parma as they travelled away to face Pomigliano. Sassuolo and Pomigliano have been the two sides clearly slightly better than the rest in the bottom half, but Parma probably have a more talented squad than the Campanians. Despite that, they were beaten 4-1. It was then clear that they needed to focus on finishing above Como and Sampdoria, rather than aiming any higher for the time being.

Next up was a fairly late 1-0 defeat at home to Sassuolo who have shown over the past few weeks that they are a much better side than the others in the Survival Pool, but at this stage of the season any defeat is a concern.

That is why being beaten 1-0 away at Como is a disaster for Parma. The very talented Chiara Beccari – who has been handed her first-ever call-up to the Italian Women’s National Team alongside teammate and close friend Matilde Pavan – grabbed the goal on the hour mark and it now seems that Parma simply have to beat Como next time they face them, as well as making sure to win both games against Sampdoria.

It was not in the plans of the Parma hierarchy to go down straight away to Serie B but they have got serious work to do if they are to avoid it as they are two points behind Como and two ahead of Sampdoria, having played a game more than both of them.

AS Roma in the UWCL again

Thanks to a commanding 3-1 victory over AC Milan and the other result at the top of the table, AS Roma Women have mathematically secured their place in next season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Considering the Nerazzurri only qualified for the first time in their history for the Champions League last season, reaching the quarter-finals and then securing their place again for next season is an immense achievement and will help to aid their growth.

It will be even more impressive if they also manage to win their first-ever Serie A Femminile title as well but Juventus are showing that they will not be making it easy for the Giallorosse.

The gap is back to eight points after they beat the Rossonere and the fact that Fiorentina ran out as 1-0 winners over Inter was the clincher that they needed to secure qualification.

With Juventus having won their first two games of the Scudetto Pool, it is clear that they will soon be joining Roma in having their Champions League place secured and they are keeping up the pressure for the two games between the sides for their two matches against each other.

Serie A Femminile Playoff Matchday 3 results

Serie A Femminile table