Chapter 187: Continuing to Lead the Serie A Standings

Chapter 187: Continuing to Lead the Serie A Standings

Although the Champions League knockout draw results pleased everyone at Udinese, their current focus isn't on the Champions League, as those matches are still two months away. Right now, Udinese needs to focus on the league, aiming to gather as many points as possible before the Champions League knockout stages begin and before Juventus realizes their threat.

The weekend brought the 15th round of Serie A. On Sunday afternoon, Juventus surprisingly drew 1-1 at home against Sampdoria. This result meant that Udinese, with one less match played, remained one point ahead of Juventus. This was the perfect opportunity for Udinese to widen the gap.

Half an hour after that match ended, Udinese played Verona at home. When Udinese returned to the locker room after warming up, they learned of Juventus' result against Sampdoria. Guidolin immediately issued an order to the Udinese players: "We must win this game!"

Under Guidolin's directive, Udinese played strongly at home. Even though Verona put up a tough fight, Udinese managed to score in the 31st minute. The goal came from veteran Di Natale, putting Udinese ahead 1-0. They continued to attack, aiming to extend their lead before halftime, but no further goals came before the break.

Just when Udinese fans thought their team would enter halftime with a 1-0 lead, the game took a sudden turn. In the first minute of stoppage time, Verona launched a quick counterattack. After a few simple passes, Christodoulopoulos assisted Toni, who struck a left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area into the top left corner of the goal. The score was now 1-1, with Toni celebrating his 300th career goal.

This equalizer was partly due to the brilliance of Toni's shot, which was difficult to defend against, and partly due to a lapse in Udinese's concentration. Although Guidolin was angry about this goal, he didn't dwell on it during the halftime break. Instead, he gave a brief warning and then focused on the second-half tactics.

He reassured the players, saying, "Even if Verona scores first in the second half, don't panic. Stick to our plan, and we can still win at home."

F**K!

Guidolin cursed; his prediction came true as Udinese conceded a goal in the very first minute of the second half. Christodoulopoulos broke through on the right and shot the ball through goalkeeper Karnezis' legs into the near corner. Verona now led 2-1.

The 40,000 Udinese fans at Friuli Stadium couldn't believe their eyes. As Verona celebrated their goal, Udinese captain Di Natale gathered his teammates.

"Don't panic!" Di Natale shouted, trying to stabilize the team. Conceding a goal so early was unsettling, but he reminded them of Guidolin's halftime message.

Listening to their captain, the players began to calm down. Those who were panicking became more composed, and those who were already calm grew more confident, even showing determination to fight back.

Guidolin had been leading Udinese for nearly five years, transforming them from a mid-table team to title contenders. His authority and influence within the team were significant.

After Christodoulopoulos' goal, Udinese quickly launched a counterattack. However, several attempts failed to yield a goal. Verona, having weathered Udinese's storm, stabilized and began to counterattack themselves.

Guidolin considered making substitutions and called on French forward Thereau to warm up. Just as he was about to make the change, Udinese scored!

Two Verona players attempted to combine in midfield, but Kante intercepted the ball with a sudden challenge. He then sent a diagonal pass to the right. Seeing Udinese's intention to counterattack, Verona's left-back hurriedly retreated.

Widmer received the ball and advanced quickly, drawing Verona's defensive midfielder Christodoulopoulos. Widmer suddenly stopped and pretended to move laterally, tricking Christodoulopoulos into stretching out a leg before pushing the ball forward.

Right-back Cancelo made a high-speed overlap. Di Natale followed in the middle, signaling for a pass. Cancelo glanced at the captain and lifted his right foot. Verona's defender Marquez, trying to play an offside trap, stepped up, putting Di Natale in an offside position. At that moment, Cancelo delivered a diagonal ball.

"Offside!" Marquez shouted, raising his hand. However, the referee's whistle didn't blow. The referee and the linesman both kept running, indicating play on.

"No offside! Rodriguez was behind!" exclaimed the local Udinese TV commentator, standing up excitedly.

"Bruno Fernandes!"

On the left, Bruno appeared, speeding past the delayed Rodriguez to reach the ball. Friuli Stadium erupted in cheers. Amidst the noise, Bruno, now one-on-one with the keeper, calmly slotted the ball past Benussi and into the net.

"GOOOOOOOOOL!!!!"

The Udinese fans at Friuli Stadium jumped to their feet.

"2-2! 2-2! Udinese quickly equalized!" shouted the local radio commentator, thrilled. "Great Udinese, great Portuguese! The young man brought in for 25 million euros has done it again. Well done, Bruno!"

Guidolin, on the sideline, watched intently. When Cancelo made the pass, he leaned forward, hands in pockets, eyes on the goal. He saw Cancelo's cross, Marquez's offside trap, Di Natale's offside position, Rodriguez lagging behind, and Bruno's low shot—goal!

The Udinese coach's hands shot out of his pockets, arms raised high as he ran in celebration. Well done!

"Bruno! Bruno! Bruno! He has scored his 12th Serie A goal this season!" Diletta Leotta shouted excitedly. "For most players, scoring 12 goals in a season is challenging, especially for a midfielder. But this 20-year-old Portuguese has done it in just 15 games!"

Bruno ran to celebrate his goal, but Di Natale led the team to embrace him, eventually pushing him to the ground in joy. Guidolin, back in his seat, felt reassured. Equalizing within five minutes of falling behind boosted the players' morale tremendously.

Meanwhile, Verona's coach was furious on the sidelines. He had hoped to capitalize on their lead to launch an offensive wave and secure victory, only to be undone by Udinese's quick counterattack. This was a huge blow to Verona's morale.

Udinese's goal significantly impacted Verona. Under Udinese's relentless pressure, Verona struggled, and in the 77th minute, Udinese scored again, taking a 3-2 lead.

This was the final goal of the match, and Udinese secured a 3-2 home victory over Verona. With this win, Udinese extended their lead over Juventus to four points after 15 rounds of Serie A.

Four days later, Udinese played their last Serie A match before the winter break. Having fought a tough battle four days earlier and with the Italian Super Cup against Juventus looming in three days, Guidolin made several changes to the lineup. Di Natale was surprisingly on the bench, and recently signed Swiss forward Alexander Frei made his Serie A debut.

In the 15th minute, Palombo passed the ball, Udinese's goalkeeper Karnezis failed to clear it far enough, and Obiang scored into the empty net, giving Sampdoria a 1-0 lead at home. However, Udinese quickly responded with two goals.

In the 31st minute, Udinese youngster Kone made a baseline cutback, and Frei, five meters from the goal, flicked the ball with the outside of his foot, scoring his first Serie A goal. Three minutes later, Bruno delivered a corner, and Danilo headed the ball into the net, putting Udinese ahead.

In the 60th minute, De Silvestri crossed, and Gabbiadini headed the ball into the net, scoring for the second consecutive round. This might be his last goal for Sampdoria, as he was rumored to be transferring to Napoli in the winter window.

In the 79th minute, Udinese launched a continuous attack on Sampdoria. Frei's header hit the post, but Bruno was quick to react, seizing the rebound and scoring with a close-range poke.

Udinese won 3-2 again. This victory ensured Udinese entered the winter break with a four-point lead over Juventus.

(End of Chapter)