Juventus dropped crucial points in their title race with Inter as Udinese escaped the Allianz Stadium with all three points following a 1-0 win.
The Old Lady came into their clash with the Friulian outfit desperate for all three points after suffering a painful 1-0 loss to Inter in the Derby d’Italia earlier this month, a possibly decisive result in the title race this season.
Udinese headed off to Turin with a need for an upset victory, tied on points with relegation candidates Hellas Verona at the bottom of the league table. Gabriele Cioffi’s side need to start putting points on the board fast to avoid serious danger.
Play started at the Allianz Stadium fairly slowly, with Juventus and Udinese both settling into the match with controlled spells of possession.
The match suddenly turned on it’s head in the 25th minute, when the Friulian side were given a free kick on the edge of the final third.
The ball was floated into the box, leading to a defensive scramble that ultimately saw it ricochet off Alex Sandro to Lautaro Giannetti, who poked it into the back of the net to give Udinese a 1-0 lead against the run of play.
Juventus tried to push for an equaliser as the first half progressed but targetless crosses from Federico Chiesa and wasteful shots from Arkadiusz Milik allowed the away side to hold onto their slim lead heading into the half-time break.
The Bianconeri continued to push forward in the early stages of the second half and thought they’d found their equaliser in the 60th minute when Milik managed to guide the ball into the back of the net, but it was chalked off because Chiesa’s ball had crossed the touchline mid-flight.
Tensions continued to build in the Allianz Stadium as frustrated Juventus fans began to grow tired of the team’s toothlessness, but little changed on the pitch, with Udinese doggedly defending their lead.
Juventus were ultimately unable to respond as all their wasted efforts caught up with them, allowing Udinese to run east with all three points after a long Monday evening battle.
