Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye was in action for Udinese as they fell to a 2-1 home defeat against Sassuolo in Sunday’s Serie A clash at the Stadio Friuli.
Udinese started brightly and took the lead in the 10th minute through Oumar Solet. The French defender collected a neat pass from Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, drove into the box and finished confidently with his right foot beyond Arijanet Muric to give the hosts an early advantage. The home side looked the more dangerous team for much of the first half, with opportunities falling to Lennon Miller and Nicolo Zaniolo as Kosta Runjaic’s men pushed for a second goal.
Sassuolo struggled to create clear openings early on, but Kristian Thorstvedt had a chance to level when he met Josh Doig’s cross from the left, only to fire straight at Okoye. Thorstvedt later headed wide from an Armand Lauriente corner as the visitors began to grow into the contest. Lauriente remained a constant threat on the flank and delivered a teasing cross that narrowly evaded Andrea Pinamonti in the box.
The equaliser eventually came through a clever link-up between Pinamonti and Lauriente. Pinamonti produced a deft backheel into Lauriente’s path, and the winger finished clinically to make it 1-1. Just two minutes later, Sassuolo completed the turnaround. Pinamonti rose to meet Ulisses Garcia’s cross and his header struck the post before going in, sealing a swift and decisive comeback for the visitors.
Udinese thought they had drawn level when Nicolo Bertola finished at the far post from a corner, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review spotted a handball in the build-up. Despite late pressure, the hosts could not find another breakthrough.
The result marks consecutive Serie A defeats for Udinese, who drop to 10th place, while Sassuolo climb above them into ninth with back-to-back away victories. In their previous meeting, Sassuolo also came out on top with a 3-1 win. Before this encounter, Udinese had won eight of the 23 meetings between the sides, compared to Sassuolo’s five victories.
Maduka Okoye played the full 90 minutes, making one save. He completed 27 of his 35 passes and recorded 43 touches in a composed individual display despite the defeat.
