Inter held to 2-2 draw at lowly Parma

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.

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