Chapter 177: An Unexpected Pleasure

Chapter 177: An Unexpected Pleasure

As the second half began, both teams continued to battle in the midfield. Around the 60-minute mark, Udinese's coach, Guidolin, made the first move by substituting Bruno for the veteran Pjanic. Badu dropped back to join Kante in a double pivot, with Bruno taking over the attacking midfield role. This was clearly a move to boost the attack.

"Guidolin seems unwilling to settle for just a point from this away game. Now, let's see how the home team responds," the commentator noted.

Meanwhile, Ludogorets' coach, George Dermendzhiev, took about ten minutes before making his move, signaling his wingers, Kuqiada and Wanderson, to warm up. "Bringing on Kuqiada or Wanderson could signify two different approaches for Ludogorets," observed Guidolin, noting the activity on Ludogorets' bench. Kuqiada's entry would mean Ludogorets was not satisfied with a 0:0 draw and wanted to attack; Wanderson's would indicate a desire to strengthen midfield defense, suggesting they would be content with a draw.

By the 69th minute, Dermendzhiev made his substitution, bringing on Wanderson for the forward, Mikhail Aleksandrov. Swapping a forward for a more defensive midfielder clearly aimed to secure the draw.

Seeing this, Guidolin also made a tactical adjustment after a brief consideration, replacing Aguirre with the faster and more dynamic Vedmon, aiming to continue pushing the attack.

Dermendzhiev, watching intently from the sidelines, was visibly hesitant. "Guidolin is boosting his attack," Dermendzhiev thought, weighing whether to bolster his defense or counter by strengthening his own attack to exploit potential gaps left by Udinese's aggressive play.

This was a dilemma: play it safe with a draw, or gamble for a win.

Just then, Muriel broke down the flank using his speed and, after cutting inside, feigned a shot but instead delivered a diagonal pass. Urtu arrived from behind, drawing the defenders' attention before passing back across to the arriving Vedmon, whose shot soared over the goal.

The huge jeers from the Ludogorets fans filled the Vasil Levski National Stadium, mocking Vedmon's miss, though in truth, they were relieved by the close call.

The excellent offensive play from Udinese prompted Dermendzhiev to decide: "A draw is good enough. No need to gamble."

Dermendzhiev immediately made another substitution, bringing on Hamza for the 34-year-old veteran Minev. Facing the fresh and fast Vedmon, Minev was struggling after nearly 80 minutes of play.

Guidolin crossed his arms and frowned. Ludogorets was fully committed to defense now, which complicated things for Udinese. It was like trying to attack someone clad in full armor.

As Guidolin pondered his next move, the stadium erupted in jeers and cheers. He looked up and clenched his fists, leaning forward as the noise grew louder. Then, celebrating enthusiastically, he realized he no longer needed to worry—his players had resolved the dilemma for him.

Kante intercepted a pass in the midfield and quickly initiated a counterattack. Vedmon carried the ball forward at high speed, evading Wanderson's sliding tackle with a clever flick of the ball and passing to Tyro.

Tyro, shielding the ball from defenders, deftly set it up for Bruno who was rushing forward. "Block his shot!" shouted Ludogorets' goalkeeper Stoyanov.

Modi moved to block, but Bruno, feinting a shot, cleverly flicked the ball with the outside of his foot, threading it through Ludogorets' defense to the advancing Urtu on the left. Facing the onrushing defender Kaisara, Urtu didn't allow any closeness, meeting the ball with a fierce shot.

"URTU!!!" roared the commentator as Urtu's powerful strike surged into the goal of Ludogorets. Stoyanov, despite stretching his arms wide, couldn't stop the shot, which flew high into the net.

"GOOOOOOOL!!! Urtu! Urtu! He scores for Udinese! 1:0! Udinese takes the lead away! After a quick midfield turnover, Kante, Vedmon, Tyro, Bruno, and Urtu combined to deliver a spectacular goal."

At the 81st minute, Udinese led 1:0. A thrilled Urtu turned around, pointing excitedly at Bruno, who had assisted. Bruno opened his arms wide, laughing joyously as he embraced Urtu. The other Udinese players also rushed over, joining in the celebration.

This tough game, if won by this goal, would be the perfect reward for everyone's efforts.

"This is a crucial goal. With stoppage time included, there are still over ten minutes left in the match, and Udinese is leading 1-0. If they can win this game, it will be significant for the team as they have overcome the first hurdle of a challenging schedule..."

Udinese players are wildly celebrating, while the faces of the Ludogorets players are marked by frustration, even despair. Conceding a goal at this point is a serious blow to their morale.

Furthermore, Ludogorets' coach, George Dermendzhiev, had already made defensive substitutions by bringing on Wanderson and Hamza, signaling his intent to hold the 0:0 score. Facing a strong Udinese side, taking a point at home would have been somewhat satisfactory for Ludogorets' players. However, since the coach had set up defensively, even if the players were discontent, they had to accept it.

Under these circumstances, securing a draw would have been acceptable, but now with Udinese scoring, falling behind in a match where they played so conservatively, if they lose, it would be a bitter defeat indeed.

"The coach, George Dermendzhiev, has been too conservative at home," said a Bulgarian commentator.

"He's timid," added his co-commentator, the well-known Bulgarian footballer Berbatov, more bluntly. "Dermendzhiev's timidity, compared to Udinese coach Guidolin's resolute aim to win away from home, might be why Udinese has now taken the lead. When you settle for a draw, fearing a loss deep inside, what you fear most often happens," Berbatov spoke rapidly, sharply criticizing.

The final score was 0:1.

Following the goal, Dermendzhiev, as if awakening from a dream, hurriedly substituted Kuqiada for Misidjan to boost the attack. On the other side, Guidolin immediately brought on Alan to replace Tyro to strengthen the midfield defense.

In the end, Ludogorets' desperate attempts to counter in the final moments were unsuccessful, and when the referee blew the final whistle, the score had not changed again. Udinese won the away match 1:0, taking a hard-earned three points.

At the post-match press conference, Guidolin didn't hold back in his praise for his players. "Ludogorets is a respectable team; they are strong and aggressive. Winning here is very tough, so I must praise all the players. They showed great spirit and effort, and I am proud of their competitive performance," Guidolin expressed.

Hearing Guidolin heap praises on his team, some journalists felt it was overdone while others nodded in agreement, visibly uplifted; the former were from the Ludogorets media, the latter not only from Udinese's media but also from other countries.

For Guidolin, the result was more delightful than expected. From the moment he decided to play a reserve lineup, he was prepared for a potential defeat away. While winning a Champions League match comes with significant financial gains, focusing on the Serie A, especially given the upcoming back-to-back away games against the Milan clubs, was essential.

Despite the recent mediocre performance of the Milanese clubs, Guidolin took them very seriously. Currently, although Udinese was second in the league, close to Roma below and Juventus above, if Udinese could perform well in these two away games, they might even top the league, or at least prevent Roma from overtaking them.

However, a slip-up at San Siro could see Udinese drop to third or lower. Yet, with this away win against Ludogorets, Udinese was very close to securing the top spot in their group. Although not their primary objective, who would reject finishing first in their group?