Udinese vs Sassuolo: Okoye heroics unable to save Zebras from defeat

Maduka Okoye was in action for Udinese against Sassulo, but despite making a telling save, the Super Eagles goalkeeper was unable to prevent his side's 2-1 loss.

Despite Okoye's magical save on the half hour after Oumar Solet gave Uidnese an early lead, two goals in two second-half minutes for Sassuolo ensured that they left Udine with all three points.

Udinese’s home fans had reason to cheer early on when Oumar Solet opened the scoring in the 10th minute, collecting Jurgen Ekkelenkamp’s pass before driving into the box and finishing confidently past Arijanet Murić.

Udinese looked the more dangerous side for much of the first half, with Lennon Miller and Nicolò Zaniolo going close to extending the lead. Sassuolo struggled to create clear openings, though Kristian Thorstvedt wasted a promising chance by shooting straight at Maduka Okoye and later headed wide from an Armand Laurienté corner.

Laurienté remained a constant threat and was central to Sassuolo’s revival. After one dangerous cross narrowly missed Andrea Pinamonti, the pair combined to equalise, with Pinamonti cleverly backheeling into Laurienté’s path for a composed finish. Just two minutes later, Sassuolo completed the turnaround as Pinamonti headed in off the post from Ulisses Garcia’s delivery.

Udinese thought they had equalised through Nicolò Bertola, but VAR disallowed the goal for handball in the build-up. The hosts ultimately fell to a second straight league defeat, slipping to 10th, while Sassuolo’s victory lifted them into ninth place.