Udinese 1 – 1 Roma: Muriel rescues point for 10-man Zebrette

A 10-man Udinese drew 1-1 with Roma on Saturday night at the Stadio Friuli in Serie A.

Erik Lamela’s first half goal was cancelled out by a Luis Muriel strike which secured a point for Francesco Guidolin’s side.

The Zebrette started with a spring in their step and went close to breaking the deadlock very early on as Antonio Di Natale launched a thunderous strike on goal, from just inside the area, only to be denied by a good Maarten Stekelenburg save to his right.

However it was the visitors who were to take the lead. Moments after Alessandro Florenzi spurned a glorious chance to hand the Giallorossi the lead, the 21-year-old was involved again. This time meeting an inch perfect Francesco Totti cross with his head, the ball then travelled under Zeljko Brkic, ricocheting back off the crossbar to find Lamela who tapped home from close range.

Aurelio Andreazzoli’s men took this one goal advantage into the half time interval.

Udinese were much improved in the second half, creating a number of chances to level the game. Perhaps, Maicosuel had the best chance to get his side back on terms, taking the ball on a solo run, unleashing a shot from the edge of the area only to find the gloves of Stekelenburg.

To the delight of the home crowd, Udinese did eventually equalise through Colombian striker Luis Muriel. Maicosuel slipped the ball toward the former Deportivo Cali man, who just kept the ball on the field and cut back leaving two Roma defenders in his wake. Muriel set his sights on goal and fired his effort through the legs of the Dutchman in the Giallorossi net.

Guidolin’s men would face an uphill battle to secure all three points after a reckless tackle by Thomas Heurtaux on Florenzi drew a straight red card from referee Marco Guida.

Roma could not make the most of their numerical advantage, despite Pablo Daniel Osvaldo missing a golden opportunity late on, but the scores finished level and points were shared in Udine.