Rossi hails Palermo performance

Palermo coach Delio Rossi has praised his charges for rallying from 1-0 down and leaving Parma ‘no chance’ in Saturday’s 3-1 victory.

Palermo conceded a goal to Alessandro Lucarelli in just the seventh minute but recovered to post three unanswered strikes in the second half and take a well-deserved three points.

Rossi was pleased to see his side rebound from a 1-0 loss to Napoli last time out and improve to fifth on the Serie A table.

“In the first half we didn’t play to our normal standards,” Rossi said.

“After the break, once we started playing like Palermo, there was no chance for Parma. The team really was fantastic in the second half.”

“I am happy with this reaction, as after the defeat to Napoli we needed to rediscover our motivation and our style of football.”

“In the first half today we did not work with our concept of the sport.”

The spark came at half-time when Rossi removed struggling midfielder Javier Pastore, with replacement Mauricio Pinilla netting the equaliser just six minutes after the restart.

Rossi admitted to a growing concern over the Argentina international’s mental well-being.

“Pastore has always made the difference for us, but at this moment in time things aren’t going for him, so he tries too hard and gets anxious” Rossi said.

“It was a shame to take him off, but a coach has to do these things. He feels the pressure a bit too much and don’t forget he’s only 21 years old.”

Lucarelli rued a host of missed opportunities in the first half for Parma, who played without coach Pasquale Marino due to the death of his mother.

“Losing always leaves a bitter taste,” Lucarelli said.

“We could have done things better as we had so many chances that we wasted, especially in the first half.”

“We should have put away the chances we had in the first half. In the second half they drew and then went on to win. This punished us from a psychological point of view.”