After closing the past season off the top 10 only due to the goal difference, Parma opted for minor changes over the summer. They lost wunderkind Kulusevski, while D’Aversa, the architect of consecutive promotions from Lega Pro to Serie A, was let go. Liverani, whose Serie A experiences had been rather forgettable, was hired as the new coach. Moreover, just before the campaign kicked off, the club was acquired by some American entrepreneurs, the Krause family.
Parma started off losing 3 out of 4, while defeating Hellas Verona, though. Then, they came up with the best run of their season, losing only once between weeks 5 and 12, but drawing 6 times. Milan and Inter were among the teams they managed to stop.
A 4-game losing run between December and early January cost Liverani his post as D’Aversa was given the reins of the team again. Despite high expectations, the latter would never be able to turn things around as the injury crisis that had characterized Parma's campaign became just overwhelming.
Besides that, goals were hard to come by as the strikers were either injured or mis-firing. Inglese, Cornelius, Gervinho and winter arrivals Pellè and Zirkzee would only produce 7 goals overall. Not too surprisingly, Parma held the worst Serie A attack with 39 goals and failed to score 15 times.
Under D’Aversa’s reign, between weeks 18 and 38, Parma won only once (3-0 against Roma) drew 5 times and lost 16! They kept squandering points here and there often collapsing at the end of games despite often taking the lead. They conceded 45% of the goals in the final 30 minutes. The 3-4 away defeat to Cagliari obtained in week 31 in injury time, despite a 2-goal lead, set an end to their ambitions of remaining at the top level.
Kucka was the sole player to stand out in a season where seasoned stars and young hopefuls were all disappointing, not only for his 7 goals scored, but also for never giving up in each and every game.
