Gennaro Gattuso has his work cut out for him as Napoli's new coach.
The Partenopei conceded an injury-time winner in a 2-1 loss at home to Parma on Saturday in Gattuso's debut.
Gattuso was hired midweek to replace the fired Carlo Ancelotti — his former coach at AC Milan — but couldn't prevent Napoli from extending its winless streak in the Italian league to eight matches.
Gervinho finished off a counterattack for Parma to decide the match.
It was uphill from the start for Gattuso as Parma scored after only four minutes.
Dejan Kulusevski took advantage of a failed tackle by Kalidou Koulibaly and finished with a decisive shot inside the near post.
Making matters worse, Koulibaly was injured on the play and had to exit with an apparent thigh problem.
Napoli was awarded a penalty in first-half added time only to have the VAR cancel the call as video footage showed that Hernani barely touched Napoli midfielder Piotr Zieliński.
Gattuso put on Dries Mertens midway through the second half and the Belgium international made an immediate impact.
A minute after coming on, Mertens provided a high cross that Arkadiusz Milik headed in from the center of the area.
Still, Napoli hasn't won in Serie A since beating Hellas Verona 2-0 on Oct. 19.
Napoli fell to eighth place and was leapfrogged by Parma.
Kickoff was delayed for a half hour after strong overnight winds damaged the San Paolo stadium's roof.
BRESCIA REVIVAL
After a long spell in last place, Brescia is showing signs of life with two straight wins since Eugenio Corini was rehired as coach.
Mario Balotelli’s club beat visiting Lecce 3-0 to move one spot above the relegation zone.
Jhon Chancellor, Ernesto Torregrossa and Nikolas Špalek scored and Balotelli was a constant threat while also getting involved in an argument.
Both Corini and the fourth official appeared to have sharp words for Balotelli as they walked off for halftime after the striker bickered with his opponents.
Corini was fired in early November but then rehired after Fabio Grosso lost all three of his matches in charge.
“If we’re united we can achieve something that seemed impossible,” Corini said. “We’re back in this race.”
Lecce is one spot above Brescia in 16th.
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Federico Bernardeschi scored against his former club as Juventus beat Fiorentina 2-0 on Wednesday to set up an Italian Cup final against Inter Milan.
After Fiorentina goalkeeper Bartłomiej Drągowski failed to intercept a cross, Bernardeschi controlled the ball with his chest then volleyed in shortly after the half-hour mark.
Danilo sealed it in stoppage time after being set up by Juan Cuadrado.
Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt, left, and Fiorentina's Nicolas Gonzalez battle for the ball during the Italian Cup semifinal soccer match between Juventus and ACF Fiorentina at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Marco AlpozziLaPresse via AP)
Aiming to defend its title, Juventus advanced on 3-0 aggregate.
Defending Serie A champion Inter beat city rival AC Milan 3-0 on Tuesday to advance.
Juventus has won the Italian Cup a record 14 times, while Inter has seven trophies in the competition — the last from 2011.
Juventus' Adrien Rabiot, right, and Fiorentina's Jonathan Ikone battle for the ball during the Italian Cup semifinal soccer match between Juventus and ACF Fiorentina at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Marco AlpozziLaPresse via AP)
The final is scheduled for May 11.
Juventus also had a goal from Adrien Rabiot wiped off for offside following a VAR check.
SALERNITANA SUCCESS
An injury-time winner earned Salernitana a 1-0 win at Udinese in Serie A, keeping the southern club’s hopes of avoiding relegation alive.
Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic, left, and Fiorentina's Alfred Duncan battle for the ball during the Italian Cup semifinal soccer match between Juventus and ACF Fiorentina at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Marco AlpozziLaPresse via AP)
Having won at Sampdoria on Saturday, it marked the first time this season that Salernitana posted consecutive victories.
Substitute Simone Verdi finished off a counterattack three minutes into stoppage time.
The bottom three clubs — Venezia, Salernitana and Genoa — are now level on points, each six points from safety.
Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt, left, and Fiorentina's Arthur Cabral battle for the ball during the Italian Cup semifinal soccer match between Juventus and ACF Fiorentina at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Marco AlpozziLaPresse via AP)
The match was postponed four months ago amid a coronavirus outbreak within Salernitana’s squad.
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