Chapter 157: Victory March

Chapter 157: Victory March

After kicking off their Champions League campaign with a win, Udinese continued on their path of victory.

On September 21st in the afternoon, during the third round of Serie A, Udinese hosted Napoli at home. In the 70th minute, Bruno Fernandes took a free kick from the front field, choosing to send the ball into the box. Defender Danilo poked in a close-range shot to secure a narrow 1:0 victory over Napoli.

Three days later, on the evening of September 24th, in the midst of a week filled with two Serie A matches, Udinese visited Rome to face Lazio at the Olympic Stadium.

The consecutive fixtures forced Guidolin to make extensive rotations, but Bruno still started the game. In the 22nd minute, Lazio's goalkeeper Marchesi collided with Muriel, the young Colombian forward, who quickly got up and attempted an open-goal shot, but it was heroically cleared from the line by Novaretti.

In the 26th minute, Bruno distributed the ball to the right wing, where Vedmon crossed it low into the box, and Tairo struck it with his left foot into the net, putting Udinese ahead 1:0 in an away game.

Lazio controlled the game with a possession of 71% and had 22 shots, but they failed to breach Udinese's staunch defense.

However, due to Juventus' 3:0 victory over Cesena in this round, and with both teams having 3 wins and 1 draw, Juventus overtook Udinese in the standings by goal difference, pushing Udinese to third place.

The last weekend of September saw the fifth round of Serie A unfold. With a crucial away match against Basel in the Champions League midweek, Guidolin continued his rotation policy. Yet at home, the triumphant Udinese once again secured a big win.

In the 22nd minute, the visitors scored first; the young player Mauri, in his second professional appearance for Parma, received a through pass from Cassano and scored with his right foot, putting Udinese behind 0:1.

But just six minutes later, Di Natale received a header from Badu and scored with his right foot, evening the score.

At the 45th minute, Bruno passed to Di Natale, who scored again, giving Udinese the lead. In the third minute of first-half stoppage time, Mauri was brought down in the box by Vedmon. The referee showed Vedmon a yellow card and awarded a penalty to Parma, which Cassano scored with a cheeky chip, leveling the score once again.

In the 58th minute, Bruno, receiving a cross from Vedmon, scored with his right foot, putting Udinese ahead 3:2.

In the 77th minute, Muriel, who had just substituted Di Natale, was fouled maliciously by Aqua in the midfield, prompting the referee to send Aqua off with a red card.

In the 84th minute, Bruno's precise through ball found Cancello who had joined the attack from behind, scoring his first Serie A goal and sealing the game at 4:2 for Udinese.

On October 1st, Udinese traveled to Basel, Switzerland, to face the Swiss champions Basel in the second round of the Champions League at St. Jakob-Park.

The stadium, with a capacity of 42,500, was filled to the brim as Basel fans showed up in full force to support their team in this crucial match. Basel's fan base is considered one of the most loyal in Europe, with an average attendance of around 70%, which is quite impressive.

Among the spectators at St. Jakob-Park was a special fan, tennis legend Roger Federer, a Basel native and a staunch supporter of the team.

The match began with the whistle of Slovenian referee Skomina. Seeing Real Madrid as the strongest in their group and likely to take one of the spots for the knockout stage, Basel knew their matches against Udinese were crucial, hence their determination to win this game.

The game started with Basel fans' near-frantic cheers driving the team to launch fierce attacks on Udinese's goal. However, their efforts did not lead to a goal and instead gave Udinese a chance.

Udinese had a dream start, scoring in just the 2nd minute when Kante intercepted a pass from Basel in their own half and launched a quick counterattack. Bruno dribbled past several players and cleverly passed through the Basel defense, finding Di Natale who was offside, and he easily scored.

Guidolin continued to trust the veteran Di Natale, who did not disappoint, scoring within the first two minutes and giving Udinese the lead.

Falling behind early, Basel quickly adjusted their tactics, opting to mark Bruno closely. Wherever he went, a Basel defender was immediately on him.

Eight minutes into the game, as Bruno received a pass from Alan and was about to turn, Basel's center-back Fabian Schär aggressively tackled him, knocking him down. This led to a free kick for Udinese in the attacking third.

Bruno chose to shoot directly, but the ball was blocked by the wall and rebounded back.

Alan regained possession, faced pressure from Basel players, and opted to pass back, leading to a series of passes that gradually drew Basel's defense out of position before Udinese reorganized their attack.

This time, Bruno masterfully dodged Fabian Frei and swept the ball to the wing.

Vedmon just received the ball when he was pressured by Basel's left-back, Safar, who knew Vedmon's tendencies and had stepped forward to intercept. Vedmon pulled the ball back and tried to turn around, but Safar was prepared.

Seeing no way through, Vedmon reluctantly passed the ball back.

Kante came up to support, not letting the ball linger and immediately passing it to Bruno.

Bruno, with his back to the goal and Safar right behind him, controlled the ball, preparing to take him on one-on-one.

At that moment, Elneny sneaked up from the side to help Safar defend against Bruno.

He tried to steal the ball as Bruno focused entirely on Schär, but Bruno sensed Elneny coming and cleverly adjusted.

Everyone saw that as Elneny swept his foot to steal, Bruno leaned back to support himself against Safar and flicked the ball inward with his right foot, then lightly lifted it with his toes.

Elneny missed his tackle and stumbled past, almost falling, while Bruno prepared to stop the ball with his left foot.

This was the moment Safar had been waiting for. He was thrilled to see an opportunity to steal the ball as he had set up a layered defense with Elneny in front and him ready to act as the second wave.

But to his dismay, he discovered the ball was no longer where he thought it would be. As he prepared to steal, Bruno had already nudged the ball with his left foot to his right, evading Safar's tackle.

Bruno then pulled the ball back, skillfully avoiding Safar's attempt to steal from behind, and turned around swiftly.

Safar was shocked. He hadn't expected Bruno to avoid his tackle and attempt to turn around under such pressure.

Absolutely not allowing him to turn, Safar knew very well the capabilities of players like Bruno, who had demonstrated their skill against teams including Real Madrid.

Determined not to let the second goal slip through so soon, Safar grabbed Bruno's jersey in desperation.

"Foul!!!" shouted BBC commentator John Motson.

Bruno had successfully turned around, with Safar now behind him, but he couldn't start running because Safar was clutching his jersey tightly.

Bruno leaned forward, trying to break free from Safar's grasp. At this critical moment, the referee Skomina was already preparing to blow his whistle for a foul.