AC Monza’s dismal home form persisted, having still not savored triumph since March as Udinese snapped a five-game winless Serie A streak with a 2-1 triumph at Stadio Briantero.
After controlling the initial five minutes, Monza’s defensive shortcomings were exposed in Udinese’s first foray when Jordan Zemura delivered to Lorenzo Lucca, who leapt to meet the ball from the left, nodding a header for his first strike since late October. Lucca then thought he had two in three minutes, finishing into the top of the net after being set up by his skipper Florian Thauvin, but his celebrations were cut short by the offside call.
To their credit, Alessandro Nesta’s underdogs retaliated, and it seemed as if Alessandro Bianco was indulging in target practice as he unleashed no fewer than three shots wide from the penalty area. At the other end, Thauvin perhaps ought to have been greedy when he reached the byline but attempted a pullback that found no one in black and white. The opening half concluded with the Biancorossi in control again, with Pedro Pereira and Warren Bondo nearly scoring as the visitors clung to their lead at halftime.
The home side was likely disappointed to hear the interval whistle but maintained their intensity after the break and equalized just two minutes in. After Daniel Maldini charged into the penalty area, attracting three Udinese defenders, the ball fell to Georgios Kyriakopoulos, and the Greek international slotted a low first-time shot past debutant goalkeeper Răzvan Sava. The pressure mounted from then on, with Gianluca Caprari skewing an attempt wide and Sava blocking a Milan Đurić header.
The match slowed after this as Monza’s energy waned, and they were punished on 70 minutes through an unexpected contributor. Kosta Runjaić’s squad countered quickly, and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp fed the advancing defender Jaka Bijol, who displayed the poise of a striker to score through Stefano Turati’s legs. There were groans across the Stadio Briantero eight minutes later when substitute Dany Mota struck a header against the crossbar. That was the closest under-fire Nesta’s team came to an equalizer as they remain 19th, ahead only of Venezia. Udinese, meanwhile, rise into the top portion of the standings in ninth.
