parma fc 0-1 sc braga (agg: 0-2) parma were knocked out of the uefa cup after being caught by a late sucker-punch from braga and diego.
despite dominating the game, parma fc were knocked out of the uefa cup after being caught by a late sucker-punch from sc braga's diego.
drilled header attempting to overturn the portuguese side's one-goal advantage from the first leg, claudio ranieri's men missed a score of chances in defeat. and things could have been so different for the serie a strugglers as daniele paponi thought his superb drilled header had beaten paulo santos early on, only for the braga goalkeeper to somehow tip the ball over the bar.
santos saves braga replied with a good chance of their own, when zé carlos's ten-metre shot flew narrowly past the post. yet it was parma who continued to make the running. zlatan muslimović nodded damiano ferronetti's cross over, before firing wide from the edge of the box. santos then worked wonders to keep out vincenzo grella's 30-metre piledriver with a fantastic flying save.
long shots despite requiring a goal to get back into the tie, parma lost momentum at the start of the second period. luca cigarini had to block a goalbound ricardo chaves effort and luís filipe might also have done better for braga from 20 metres. time was ticking down when andrea gasbarroni brought the best out of santos from distance as the hosts pressed once more. the breakthrough nearly came when substitute gasbarroni fed antonio bocchetti whose powerful header flashed wide.
late twist gasbarroni, daniele dessena and giuseppe rossi all went close before braga midfielder frechaut was dismissed for a second bookable offence. as parma continued to push forward, they were caught out when filipe crossed for diego to volley home in the 89th minute and set up a last-16 meeting with tottenham hotspur fc.
