Udinese defeated Inter 3-0 at the Stadio Friuli in Sunday’s lunchtime Serie A action.
The first half concluded with a scoreless stalemate intact, but an Antonio Di Natale brace coupled with Juan Jesus’ dismissal saw Francesco Guidolin’s men run riot in the closing 25 minutes to claim a cracking victory.
It took over 12 minutes of time for the match to see even its first shot, with Fredy Guarin dragging wide of the mark from the edge of the area. At the other end Luis Muriel found space in the box, but fired directly into former Zebrette keeper Samir Handanovic’s arms.
Rodrigo Palacio skipped past a defender to play in Guarin at a tough angle, but a crucial intervention from Thomas Heurtaux got the ball clear.
On 25 minutes the Nerazzurri had shouts for a penalty when Palacio went down under Danilo as the striker chased Antonio Cassano’s through ball, but the referee waved away their claims and instead booked the Argentine for simulation.
Soon after, a Walter Samuel foul set up a free-kick opportunity for Udinese that nearly saw the hosts take the lead, but Di Natale’s resulting screamer crashed off the crossbar with Handanovic well beaten.
Zeljko Brikic had to dive to his right to grip a Walter Gargano effort, whilst Di Natale curled another free-kick over the bar.
After the halftime restart, Juan Jesus wasted a glorious chance to put the Milanese giants ahead, striking the post from close range with the goal gaping following some tricky work from Cassano and an intelligent pass by Palacio.
Minutes later, the former Genoa man broke free in the area after Maurizio Domizzi slipped in defense, but Brkic got down well to beat away the Argentine’s low attempt.
Guarin embarked on a rambling run, leaving a multitude of defenders in his wake, but Palacio could not get his shot on target from the penultimate through ball.
At the other end, the home side took the lead through their talismanic captain. Andrea Lazzari launched a lofted ball over the top on the counter, and the prolific Di Natale made no mistake in controlling on the right side of the area and beating his former teammate at the far post.
Moments after things went from bad to worse for the Nerazzurri, as Juan Jesus was sent off on a second yellow card for hacking down Muriel from behind. Di Natale tested Handanovic from the ensuing free-kick, but the Slovenian was able to smother low to his left.
On 75 minutes, the hosts doubled their lead. Dusan Basta dissected Inter’s depleted ranks with a through ball, and Muriel smashed home an angled drive to send the Stadio Friuli into raptures.
The onslaught continued only 4 minutes later, as Di Natale completed his brace by stabbing past Handanovic at point-blank range from a Lazzari cross.
Tommaso Rocchi came on for Inter to make his Nerazzurri debut under the worst of circumstances, whilst Muriel made way for Maicosuel for the Zebrette.
Di Natale was removed late on to raucous applause from the home support as Inter desperately searched for a consolation, but Udinese held firm.
With the win, Udinese temporarily go level with AC Milan on 27 points, good for seventh in the table, with the Rossoneri still to play in round 19.
You can follow Ian Capasso on Twitter @capasso10.
