Sampdoria missed the chance to return to the top of the table as they were held to a draw by Parma.

Giampaolo Pazzini fired Samp in front midway through the first half, but the lead was cancelled out soon after by Daniele Galloppa.

The point sees Luigi Del Neri's men move level with leaders Inter Milan, but the pair could be overtaken by Juventus later today.

Samp have enjoyed an exceptional start to the campaign, and that looked like continuing as early as the third minute today when Daniele Mannini played in Pazzini with a well-timed ball with defender Christian Panucci diverting the shot wide.

Parma also came close to an opener on the quarter-hour when a free-kick from Damiano Zenoni was headed narrowly wide by Cristian Zaccardo.

But the home side gradually began to take control and it was no surprise when they took the lead after 23 minutes.

Mannini supplied a perfect cross from the left which was headed past the outstretched Antonio Mirante into the bottom corner by Pazzini.

However, Parma responded well to the blow and were back on level terms seven minutes later.

A neat passing move between Jonathan Biabiany and Nicola Amoruso allowed the latter to play the ball through to Galloppa, who found the target with a low strike.

Cassano tried to restore Samp's advantage before the break but Mirante was up to the challenge with a confident save from the forward's attempted chip.

The second half began with appeals for a penalty from the Blucerchiati. A mistake from Panucci allowed Cassano to steal the ball and provide a low cross to Pazzini in the area.

The striker fell under a challenge from Galloppa, prompting several loud calls for a spot-kick, but the referee was unmoved by the protests.

The decision only served to fire up Samp, and Andrea Poli was unfortunate not to net a second for the home side when his low shot beat Mirante but was cleared off the line by McDonald Mariga after 59 minutes.

Parma were not without their chances either and Amoruso should have done better when he was teed up in the area by a swift counter-attack, but he pushed his final ball wide with only Luca Castellazzi to beat.

The Samp goalkeeper was called into action again seven minutes from time when another swift break from Parma allowed Mariga to supply a cross from the left for Amoruso.

The striker lashed in a first-time volley which Castellazzi somehow managed to turn away from the top corner.

That proved the last real chance of the game with Samp's last-ditch attempts to steal the points frustrated by a stubborn Parma backline.