PARMA, Italy :Leaders Inter Milan squandered a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2 at lowly Parma in Serie A on Saturday as coach Simone Inzaghi served a touchline ban after being shown a red card last weekend.
Matteo Darmian gave Inter the lead after 15 minutes and Marcus Thuram doubled their advantage just before the break with a peculiar chipped finish.
However, Parma, who threatened Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer in the first half, pulled a goal back on the hour through halftime substitute Adrian Bernabe before Jacob Ondrejka levelled in the 69th minute following a brilliant solo run.
Inzaghi, who celebrated his 49th birthday on the day, watched the game away from the touchline after being sent off following two bookings in their nervy 2-1 win over Udinese last weekend.
Inter, on 68 points from 31 games, are four points above second-placed Napoli, who travel to Bologna, in fourth, on Monday.
Inter have failed to win in five of their last six away games in Serie A after winning their previous eight.
Promoted Parma are 16th, four points above the relegation zone.
Inter, who on Tuesday visit Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals, looked set for a comfortable win when Darmian gave them a quick lead, striking at the near post as the ball went inside off the woodwork.
The hosts threatened early on as they had two dangerous shots on target through Ange-Yoan Bonny and Dennis Man either side of Inter’s opener, but goalkeeper Yann Sommer maintained their lead with some fine saves.
His teammates dominated the midfield and Thuram made it 2-0 before halftime.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan latched on to a long pass on the right and squared the ball for Thuram, whose shot seemed misplaced and heading over but snuck in under the crossbar.
The Parma-born striker has scored 14 goals in Serie A this season, a personal record.
The defending champions, however, allowed a two-goal advantage to slip through their fingers after the restart.
Bernabe found the back of net with a lovely shot from outside the box that sailed into the bottom right corner and Ondrejka equalised soon after with a solo effort.
The Swedish winger received the ball near the halfway line and slalomed his way past the Inter defence to unleash a shot from the edge of the area, the ball going in from a deflection off Darmian.
Parma are unbeaten in five of their six games under former Inter defender Cristian Chivu, who previously coached Inter’s youth teams from 2018-2024.
