Pre-Season Friendly: Fulham 1 Parma 2

A stunning Steve Sidwell strike could not prevent Fulham falling to a 2-1 defeat against Serie A side Parma at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

Sidwell opened the scoring in the 10th minute with an unstoppable long-range effort but Gabriel Paletta levelled for Parma in the second half with a towering header.

And Nicola Sansone completed the comeback with five minutes remaining with a back-post header.

Martin Jol named loan signing Adel Taarabt among the Fulham substitutes, while Parma started with Antonio Cassano and Amauri up front.

Sidwell lit up the opening exchanges as he collected the ball in his own half before unleashing a fierce 30-yard strike that thundered into the top corner, beyond the reach of Antonio Mirante.

Fulham were afforded a reprieve on the half-hour mark when Marco Parolo’s vicious shot beat Maarten Stekelenburg but rebounded off the crossbar, as Sidwell’s opener remained the difference at the break.

However, just 11 minutes after the restart the sides were back on level terms. Cassano hung his cross in the air and Parma captain Paletta rose highest to head home.

Taarabt entered proceedings in the final 30 minutes remaining and some neat footwork from the Moroccan earned Fulham a free-kick that Bryan Ruiz landed on the roof of the net.

And the hosts’ failure to find a second goal proved costly when Sansone squeezed a header home at the back post from a Gianni Munari cut-back.

Jol’s side have now completed their pre-season schedule and travel to The Stadium of Light to begin their Premier League campaign against Sunderland on August 17.