Udinese moved into the top half of the Serie A standings after claiming a convincing 3-1 derby win over Hellas Verona on Monday night.
The hosts made the brighter start to the contest, creating the early openings. Jurgen Ekkelenkamp and Jesper Karlström both tried their luck from distance, but neither effort seriously tested Verona goalkeeper Simone Perilli.
Udinese eventually broke the deadlock midway through the first half in fortuitous fashion. Arthur Atta delivered a low ball from the left that clipped Tobias Slotsager on its way through, completely deceiving Perilli.
The slight deflection ensured the effort was credited to Atta rather than going down as an own goal.
Verona responded almost instantly. Amine Sarr surged down the right wing and produced an excellent cross into the box, where Gift Orban controlled before calmly finishing past Maduka Okoye from close range to restore parity.
The decisive moment came just before the hour mark. Jordan Zemura’s free-kick from deep ricocheted off the defensive wall and dropped kindly for Alessandro Zanoli, who showed great technique to curl a stunning outside-of-the-boot shot into the top corner to make it 2-1.
Udinese wrapped up the win ten minutes later with a slick passing move involving Karlström, Keinan Davis and Atta. Davis was released into space on the left side of the penalty area and powered his finish into the roof of the net at the near post to seal the victory.
The result lifts Udinese to 29 points from 22 matches, level with ninth-placed Lazio. Verona’s struggles continue, however, as they remain second from bottom in 19th place, four points adrift of safety with just two league wins all season.
