Hellas Verona dispatched Udinese 3-1 on a Monday afternoon in Serie A.
Luca Toni opened the scoring with a smart brace for the Scaligeri before Roberto Pereyra got one back for Udinese with a great goal, only for Juan Manuel Iturbe to restore Verona’s two-goal advantage in the second half in an entertaining game.
The game had an exciting rhythm in the early exchanges with with both sides coming out and looking to attack.
Toni put the Gialloblu ahead in the eight minute after Udinese sloppily lost the ball, with Verona getting the ball quickly to Toni whose shot from the edge of the area found the back of the net after sliding under the hands of Zeljko Brkic who should have done better.
The Zebrette looked dangerous in the 15th minute after Nico Lopez wormed his way into the area but was tackled well just as he was about to get a shot away by Domenico Maietta.
The rhythm of the game started to change after the 30 minute mark, with Verona allowing Udinese to control possession as they got men behind the ball and looked to hit the Bianconeri on the counterattack.
Toni doubled his and Verona’s tally in the 39th minute with a wonderful team goal after being set up with a cute pass from Romulo and the 36-year-old dinked it calmly past the oncoming Brkic.
Udinese got one back through Pereyra in the 43rd minute who scored a spectacular goal after flicking the ball up to himself with a great first touch as he faced away from goal area before turning and volleying across past Rafael.
Soon after Bianconeri coach Francesco Guidolin was sent to the stands after expressing his displeasure at a free kick given against his side.
Toni had a good chance seconds before the half-time whistle but could only blast over and an entertaining half came to an end.
The opening 10 minutes of the second half were also eventful with Antonio Di Natale slicing wide from a half-chance on the edge of the Mastini’s area.
Udinese continued to look dangerous and Thomas Heraux was played in with a diagonal ball into the box but the Frenchman could missed the target with his volley.
The Bianconeri then put another cross across the face of the box but the ball evaded everyone, allowing Verona to regain possession and launch a dangerous looking counterattack that ended with Toni firing wide.
The Zebrette came agonisingly close to equalizing in the 69th minute but were denied by a double save from Rafael.
Substitute Iturbe scored in the 70th minute after a wonderful individual effort after dispossessing Danilo by the touchline before driving into the area and slotting in with a cute finish at the near post.
The Zebrette came close three times in the last five minutes and Bruno Fernandes hit the post with a thunderous shot but ultimately the entertaining game ended with a 3-1 win for the visitors.
