Udinese climbed back up to second place in the Serie A table after a 1-0 victory at home to Lecce, thanks to a stunning Jordan Zemura free-kick a quarter of an hour from time.
Kosta Runjaic made four changes to his starting line-up, while Luca Gotti made just one alteration despite losing 3-0 to Milan last time out.
The first half was not lacking in chances: There were 12 attempts in total, four of which ended up on target. Christian Kabasele stung Wladimiro Falcone’s palms following a Udinese set-piece, while Lorenzo Lucca put the follow-up wide of the post.
Nikola Krstovic also tried a speculative volley from 25-yards out following a poor pass out of the back, but his effort was collected relatively easily by Maduka Okoye in the end.
At the other end, Kabasele came close again, requiring a scrambling save to keep his header out. Jordan Zemura put the follow-up wide on that occasion; arguably the best chance of the half. The former Watford centre-back was also unlucky when nobody got on the end of his nod-back a few minutes from time.
Pier Zarraga came the closest, though, striking the post with a long-range effort on the bounce.
It was a set-piece that broke the deadlock in the end. Zemura stepped up to dispatch a bending effort up and over the wall and into the top corner from 25 yards out with 75 minutes on the clock.
Udinese’s victory pushes them back up to second place in the Serie A standings, three points behind the league leaders, Napoli. They will be hoping for a draw between Inter and Torino later tonight, which will allow them to keep hold of their position overnight.
Udinese 1-0 Lecce
Zemura (U) 76′.
Player statistic
| Kingsley Ehizibue |  |
28' | ||
| 36' | |
Ante Rebic | ||
| 40' | |
Federico Baschirotto |
| Hassane Kamara | |
72' | ||
| Jordan Zemura |  |
75' |
Match statistic
