Udinese came from behind to beat Sassuolo 3-2 at Dacia Arena in Serie Matchday 12 to record their first win in the competition since 12 September.
Luca Gotti rang the changes and fielded an attacking 4-2-3-1 system, with Beto spearheading the side and Nahuel Molina, Roberto Pereyra and Gerard Deulofeu providing creative foil. The coach’s choices were almost immediately vindicated: the hosts went into the lead through Deulofeu after only eight minutes, finishing off some tidy work by Rodrigo Becao.
However, the joy was to be short lived as Domenico Berardi soon equalised for Sassuolo, who then took the lead just before the half hour mark through Davide Frattesi. Yet the game took another twist in the 39th minute when Molina was able to draw the scores level once more; like Berardi’s strike there was a good dose of fortune involved, the Argentine’s shot getting a deflection to completely deceive Andrea Consigli in the Sassuolo goal. The sides went into the break at 2-2 for a much-needed breather in what was a frenetic first half.
There was no letting up in the action, though: Beto completed Udinese’s comeback in the 51st minute, tapping in after Deulofeu’s trickery unlocked the Sassuolo defence. It looked like that Gotti’s charges wouldn’t stop there either, with numerous other scoring opportunities falling their way. The visitors were given a huge boost when Jean-Victor Makengo was sent off, but despite their best efforts they were unable to capitalise on their one-man advantage. Udinese held on to win 3-2, kick-starting their November with a victory which was as exciting as it was vital for them.
UDINESE – SASSUOLO: 3-2 (HT 2-2)
Scorers: 8 Deulofeu, 15 Berardi, 28 Frattesi, 39 Molina, 51 Beto
Udinese (4-2-3-1): Silvestri; Perez, Becao, Nuytinck, Samir (36 Udogie); Arslan (16 Makengo), Walace; Molina, Pereyra, Deulofeu; Beto (88 Success).
Unused substitutes: Padelli, Carnelos, Zeegelaar, Jajalo, Samardzic, Nestorovski, Forestieri, De Maio, Soppy.
Coach: Gotti
Sassuolo (4–2-3-1): Consigli; Muldur, Chiriches, Ferrari, Rogerio; Frattesi (87 Harroui), Magnanelli (71 Scamacca); Berardi, Traore (71 Henrique), Raspadori; Defrel.
Unused substitutes: Pegolo, Satalino, Goldaniga, Ayhan, Peluso, Toljan, Kyriakopoulos. Coach: Dionisi
Referee: Dionisi de L'Aquila
Assistants: Lombardi and Mokhtar
Fourth official: Minelli
VAR: Guida, Carbone
Booked: Arslan, Makengo, Ferrari, Muldur, Consigli
Sent off: Makengo
Added time: 2+5 minutes