A first half that decided it
Udinese’s home game against Roma was effectively over before the interval. Roma scored four times in the first half and went on to win 5-2, with Rodrigo Mora and Donyell Malen among the scorers, according to [1]. The visitors were far from full strength. Paulo Dybala, Mile Svilar, Manu Koné and Lorenzo Pellegrini were all absent, and Pierluigi Gollini was expected to start in goal, as [2] reported when the squad was named. Roma had also arrived unbeaten after nine Serie A matches.
That context makes the scoreline harder for Udinese to defend. A Roma side without its first-choice goalkeeper and several senior names still found the net four times before half-time, and the home side never recovered the initiative. Udinese did pull two goals back after the break, so there was some response, but the damage had been done in the opening period.
The result was Udinese’s seventh defeat in eight league matches, as [3] put it. It came only days after a 0-0 draw at Parma, which briefly interrupted the slide. The Roma game showed how fragile that point was.
Absences and one bright spot
Udinese were short in several areas. Alessandro Zanoli, Idrissa Guèye and Oumar Solet were all listed as missing, according to [1]. Losing a full-back, a midfielder and a central defender at once leaves little room for error against an opponent that moves the ball quickly. The extent of the injuries is not detailed in the sources, so it would be wrong to say how long any of the three will be out.
There was a positive note in Matteo Palma’s goal. Coach Kosta Runjaić described him as the team’s youngest player, per [3]. A goal from a young forward is a small consolation in a 5-2 defeat, but it gives the squad something to build on while the senior group struggles for results.
Udinese’s scoring is not the main concern. They have 11 goals from ten games, which is modest but not alarming for a side near the bottom. The larger problem is at the other end, where 23 goals conceded is the figure that explains the position in the table. Nights like this one, with four goals in 45 minutes, account for much of it.
Runjaić under the spotlight
The coach has been left exposed. [3] reports that he is under pressure after the Roma defeat. Asked whether he remains the right man for the job, he said it is “not up to me” to decide. That is not a resignation or a show of defiance, only an acknowledgement that the decision sits with the club.
The recent run gives context for the doubts. Udinese lost 2-1 at Torino on 12 October, then 3-0 at home to Lecce on 18 October and 2-0 at home to Milan on 25 October. A 0-0 draw at Parma on 28 October offered a little relief before the Roma loss on 31 October. Of those five games, the only point came from a match in which Udinese did not score.
The sources do not fully agree on how the run should be described. One report speaks of six consecutive defeats, while another says the Parma draw ended a six-match losing run. They also differ on the gap to the relegation zone. The site’s own records are clear on the main facts: Udinese have one win, two draws and seven defeats.
What it means
Udinese are 19th in Serie A with five points from ten games, one win, two draws and seven defeats, with 11 goals scored and 23 conceded. A goal difference of minus 12 is the sharpest number on the page. Form points the same way: one point from the last five matches, and only one goal scored in the last three of them. They have also dropped points to every kind of opponent in that spell, from Lecce to Milan to a rotated Roma.
The next fixture is Venezia away on 6 November. It is the kind of match that a side in Udinese’s position has to treat as a chance to collect points, and it will also test whether the team can defend for 90 minutes after conceding four in one half. Zanoli, Guèye and Solet have no confirmed return dates in the input, so the defensive picture may not improve quickly. The site’s forecast for the match locks 24 hours before kick-off.
For Runjaić, the question is practical rather than abstract. A result at Venezia would ease some of the talk around his position, and another heavy defeat would make it louder. With the table as it stands, the match matters more to Udinese than most of the fixtures that have come before it.
Sources
- Football Italia: Serie A | Udinese 2-5 Roma: Job done in first 37 minutes football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Official: Roma confirm 22-man squad for Udinese trip including five teenagers football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Runjaic: ‘A dark evening for Udinese, it’s not up to me to decide on my future’ football-italia.net ↩
