Udinese fell 1-0 to Sassuolo at the Stadio Friuli on Sunday afternoon in Serie A.
In a game where both teams lacked quality in front of goal, it was Francesco Magnanelli’s second-half goal that proved the difference.
Udinese started the stronger of the two sides, with more of the possession and early attempts for their pro-activeness. Both Ivan Piris and Stipe Perica saw their shots blocked by the Sassuolo defence on the second and fifth minute respectively.
Soon after Udinese’s quick start however, Sassuolo managed to get a foothold in the game. For some time both teams played on equal terms, with possession evenly split but neither creating much in terms of opportunities.
The game had become stop-start 15 minutes in. Incessant fouling and successive set-pieces had brought the game to a halt. It took Simone Zaza to jolt the match back into life. Davide Biondini played in the Sassuolo striker, who drifted left and fired from a difficult angle on 27 minutes. Unfortunately Zaza could not find the target.
Orestis Kanezaris suffered an injury soon after, and despite attempting to walk it off, he was ultimately substituted by Simone Scuffet on 29 minutes.
The best chance of the game came from Udinese on 31 minutes, with Danilo heading towards goal and Andrea Consigli stretching to palm it clear of his crossbar. Danilo’s effort looked to have spurred Udinese on, with the Zebrette stampeding forward. Panagiotis Kone, Cyril Thereau and Piris all saw their shot attempts blocked or go wide during a positive five-minute spell for Udinese.
Zaza quickly moved to rein in Udinese, testing Scuffet with a shot on 43 minutes. The newly introduced goalkeeper dove low to his right and clawed Zaza’s effort out. Two minutes later, Scuffet once again denied Zaza as both teams went into half time tied at 0-0.
Udinese had been the better team in the first half, out-possessing and out-shooting Sassuolo. Although most of the Zebrette’s attempts had failed to find the target, whilst Zaza allowed Sassuolo to maintain the illusion of danger and force the Udinese defence to remain vigilant.
Udinese made their intentions clear on the return from half time, with Antonio Di Natale coming in for Perica. However it was Sassuolo who grabbed the early initiative. Domenico Berardi twice found a teammate, but Zaza and Antonio Floro Flores’ efforts both failing to find the target. With Both missing,
Berardi took matters into his own hands on 55 minutes and rattled a long-range shot of his own. Like the two before him though, he could not find the target.
Sassuolo’s pressure finally paid off on 70 minutes. Domenico Berardi found Francesco Magnanelli outside the area who fired past Scuffet and into the bottom corner. It soon went from bad to worse. Guilherme received his marching orders after a second yellow card for a foul on Zaza, leaving Udinese down to 10 men.
Sassuolo were able to hold out in the end, taking the 1-0 win and all three points out of Friuli.
