Parma 3 : 1 Palermo - Parma ease clear of danger

Parma eased their Serie A relegation worries after leading from start to finish in their 3-1 victory over Palermo.

Blerim Dzemaili gave then an early lead before Francesco Modesto doubled it with less than 20 minutes gone.

Javier Pastore pulled one back for the visitors in the second half before Antonio Candreva secured all three points with a goal in the 89th minute.

While the result means the hosts can inch away from the relegation zone, for Palermo it is a blip in their attempt to keep up the heat on those immediately above them in their search for a Europa League place.

And it was the hosts who made an ideal start, Dzemaili scoring from close range after a scramble in the Parma area.

However, the visitors almost levelled after 17 minutes when Sebastian Giovinco hit the bar from a tight angle.

Just a minute later Parma extended their lead, Modesto firing home from the edge of the six-yard box.

Palermo hit back and Antonio Mirante saved well from Josip Ilicic, Abel Hernandez and Antonio Nocerino before the Parma goalkeeper had to replaced by Nicola Pavarini because of injury.

It was the visitors who then got the third goal, Pastore slotting home from 15 yards 11 minutes after half-time.

Federico Balzaretti, Pastore, Afriye Acquah, Mauricio Pinilla all sent in shots as Palermo looked to equalise and keep their Europa League push going but Parma sealed victory when Candreva slotted home in front of goal.

They almost got a fourth goal, Salvatore Sirigu saving well from Dzemaili in the top right-hand corner.