Nigerian goalkeeper Maduka Okoye’s spectacular penalty save proved insufficient to prevent Udinese from collapsing to a comprehensive 3-0 home defeat against Bologna in Serie A action on Saturday, as reported by PUNCH Sports Extra.
The match, played at the Bluenergy Stadium, saw Okoye deliver a moment of brilliance just before the half-time whistle, but his heroics were ultimately overshadowed by a devastating second-half performance from the visitors.
▌Penalty Drama and Nigerian Connection
With the score locked at 0-0 in the 41st minute, Bologna was awarded a crucial penalty following a lengthy VAR review. The decision stemmed from a handball offense committed by another Nigerian international, Udinese defender Kingsley Ehizibue, who was judged to have extended his elbow to block a shot from Tommaso Pobega inside the box.
Bologna forward Riccardo Orsolini stepped up to take the resulting spot-kick. However, Okoye, demonstrating sharp reflexes and positioning, produced a brilliant save, diving to parry the central effort away and ensuring the teams went into the break level.
▌Second Half Collapse
Despite Okoye’s crucial intervention, the momentum shifted dramatically in the second half, and the Udinese defense crumbled under Bologna’s pressure.
The home side’s resistance was broken just nine minutes after the restart. Ironically, it was the player whose shot led to the penalty, Tommaso Pobega, who emerged as the tormentor. Pobega bagged a surprising brace, scoring in the 54th minute and quickly following up with another goal in the 60th minute, putting the visitors firmly in control.
The quick succession of goals dashed any hopes Udinese had of securing points, and Bologna added a third goal late in the game to seal the 3-0 victory.
While Okoye’s individual performance, highlighted by the penalty save, drew praise, the result leaves Udinese struggling to climb the Serie A table as the season progresses.
His first goal came from just inside the area when Orsolini cut inside and rolled the ball across for Pobega, who took a touch and swept into the far bottom corner.
The second was a result of a terrible pass from Okoye, whose distribution error was intercepted by Pobega, who capitalised to score his second of the game.
Federico Bernardeschi sealed Bologna’s victory in stoppage time, sweeping into an empty net after Udinese got into another mess playing out from the back.
The defeat leaves Udinese just inside the top 10 with 15 points from 12 matches.
Bologna’s victory sees Vincenzo Italiano’s team rise to 2nd and continue their challenge for the Champions League places after lifting the Coppa Italia last season.
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