Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye delivered a commanding performance as Udinese secured a hard fought 1-0 victory over Roma on matchday 23 of the Serie A, with his saves proving decisive in earning maximum points.
Udinese started brightly and created early openings but failed to make them count, allowing Roma to grow into the contest. In the 29th minute, Roma threatened through Matias Soule, who drove centrally before laying the ball into the path of Lorenzo Pellegrini. Malen stepped in to intercept, but his tame effort was still enough to test Maduka Okoye, who reacted sharply to parry the ball away with one glove in a moment that underlined his alertness.
Roma continued to push after the break and came close again shortly after the restart when Wesley surged down the left and fired a low angled shot toward the near post. Maduka Okoye was quick off his line, blocking the effort with his legs before chaos followed in the box, ending with Kristensen hacking the ball clear. Udinese immediately broke on the counter, forcing Gianluca Mancini into a booking as he brought down Davis.
From the resulting free kick in the 49th minute, Udinese found the breakthrough. Jurgen Ekkelenkamp struck the set piece, which took a heavy deflection off Malen in the wall and looped beyond Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar into the far top corner, completely changing direction and leaving the keeper helpless.
Roma pressed for an equaliser as the match wore on and thought they had levelled late on. In the 89th minute, a set play saw Tsimikas acrobatically hook the ball back across goal, allowing Bryan Cristante to nod it over the line, but the effort was ruled out due to Tsimikas being in an offside position.
Deep into stoppage time, Roma came agonisingly close. Cristante flicked on a crowded delivery and Mancini stabbed the ball from close range, only for Okoye to react brilliantly, getting down on his line to produce a fingertip save that preserved Udinese’s lead and sealed the win.
Maduka Okoye played the full 90 minutes, making three crucial saves, completing 21 of his 37 passes and recording 43 touches. The Nigerian goalkeeper has now featured in eight of Udinese’s last nine matches, continuing his run as a key figure for the side.
The result marked a rare success for Udinese against Roma, who had won their previous six meetings and beaten Udinese 2-0 earlier in the season, with the Friulian side conceding at least two goals in each of those defeats.
The victory lifts Udinese to ninth place on the Serie A table with 32 points, while Roma remain fifth on 43 points after a frustrating night undone by Okoye’s heroics.
