Juventus 2-0 Udinese

Our final away game of the season ends in defeat against Juventus. The match remained goalless for over an hour until the home side managed to break through our defence and take the lead. Their second goal came on the counter in the closing stages.

 

Juventus earned a free kick early in the match, but Franciscp Conceicao sent it over the bar. Conceicao then broke free on the right and set up Manuel Locatelli, who shot wide.

 

A few minutes later, Randal Kolo Muani threatened our defence, but Maduka Okoye timed his save perfectly and pushed the ball out for a corner. Igor Tudor’s side also tried through Kenan Yildiz, who first curled an effort too high, then had a low shot deflected by a defender.

 

Around the half-hour mark, a forward run by Oumar Solet set up Jurgen Ekkelenkamp for a long-range effort, but Michele Di Gregorio made the save. On the other end, Andrea Cambiaso also made a dangerous run, but again the goalkeeper was alert and stopped the shot.

 

In the final 10 minutes of the first half, Yildiz tried his luck again from the left but fired over, while Alberto Costa took a shot from the right. Udinese responded with Jordan Zemura winning the ball in a promising area and exchanging passes with Jesper Karlstrom, whose shot was blocked by a defender’s sliding tackle.

 

The last scares of the first half came from Nicolas Gonzalez: his header went over the bar, and a low drive was denied by Okoye with the help of the post.

 

At the start of the second half, Kosta Runjaic’s men looked more proactive. Karlstrom tried a shot from the edge of the box, but it was caught by Di Gregorio. Conceicao responded quickly, cutting in from the right, but Okoye made a brilliant save to stop it from nestling in the bottom corner.

 

Lazar Samardzic had a decent chance from the edge of the area, but his effort was off target. Juventus were more clinical at the other end as Gonzalez received the ball in a great position inside the box and beat a helpless Okoye to make it 1-0.

 

Ten minutes later, Udinese went close again through Ekkelenkamp, who almost struck the top corner with a long-range effort.

 

In the final 15 minutes, the pace slowed. Juventus tried again with Weston McKennie, but our defence turned his effort behind for a corner. The home side doubled their lead on the counter in the final moments, after Udinese had committed players forward and Dusan Vlahovic finished off the move with a cool finish.

 

It ended 2-0 to Juventus, which means that Udinese remain on 44 points.

 

Scorers: Gonzalez 61, Vlahovic 88.

 

Juventus (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Costa, Veiga, Kelly; Gonzalez, McKennie (Douglas Luiz 81), Locatelli (c), Cambiaso (Weah 73); Conceicao (Adzic 90+1), Yildiz (Mbangula 90+1); Kolo Muani (Vlahovic 73).
Subs not used: Perin, Pinsoglio, Gatti, Turicchia, Rouhi, Gil Puche.
Coach: Tudor

 

Udinese (3-4-2-1): Okoye; Kristensen, Kabasele (c) (Giannetti 76), Solet; Ehizibue, Zarraga, Karlstrom, Kamara (Zemura 29); Lovric (Modesto 60), Ekkelenkamp (Sanchez 76); Davis.
Subs not used: Sava, Padelli, Palma, Pafundi, Pizarro.
Coach: Runjaic

 

Referee: Ayroldi
Assistants: Preti, Cipressa
Fourth Official: Bonacina
VAR: Pezzuto
Assistant VAR: Maresca

Booked: Kamara 3, Lovric 14, Kristensen 77.

Added time: 2+4.