Wasteful Udinese held by struggling Verona
Verona got off to the perfect start, taking the lead inside four minutes. Whilst it came in fortuitous circumstances, the away side were reeling away in celebration thanks to Darko Lazović’s shot from distance that deflected off Udinese defender Rodrigo Becão on the way in, and the goal was officially ruled as an own-goal. Motivated by the setback, the hosts responded well to falling behind and equalised midway through the first half. Beto played his role as a number-nine, holding the ball and defenders off before laying it to an onrushing Lazar Samardžić, who rolled into the far corner with a tidy first time finish. The home side almost took the lead before HT but Destiny Udogie’s first-time drive was incredibly blocked on the line.
Both sides started the second half at a frantic pace with chances coming at both ends, and only wasteful finishing prevented either of them from taking the lead. First, Kevin Lasagna wasted a golden opportunity inside the box for the away side, before Nehuén Pérez should have scored from a corner minutes later but his header on goal was tipped away by Lorenzo Montipò. As the half went on chances were few and far between as a lack of quality was beginning to creep in. Udinese had a half-chance late on to snatch all three points through Sandi Lovric, but his shot from the edge of the box was wide of the target.
With neither side able to find a second goal, the spoils were shared which leaves Verona inside the relegation zone, five points from safety, while Udinese continue to keep hold of their UEFA Europa Conference League, although they've now won just one of their last 12 league games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lazar Samardžić (Udinese)
