A losing run with no relief
Udinese’s season has slid quickly. After eight Serie A games they have one win, one draw and six defeats, which leaves them 17th with four points. The goal difference tells the same story: nine scored and 18 conceded, so they are leaking more than two goals a game on average.
The current run began with a 5-3 defeat away to Inter on 14 September, a game that at least showed some attacking threat. It continued with a 1-0 home loss to Cagliari on 19 September and a 2-1 defeat at Torino on 12 October. A 3-0 home defeat to Lecce on 18 October followed, and [1] noted that morale was low going into the Milan game.
Milan then won 2-0 in Udine, with Christian Pulisic scoring early in the first half, and the losing run reached six league games. According to [2], Runjaic described a difficult spell and declined to discuss his own future. Four of the six defeats came at the Bluenergy Stadium or were by a single goal, so the problem is not only one of heavy defeats. It is that Udinese have found no way to turn effort into points.
Injuries and a thin squad
Runjaic has pointed to injuries as part of the explanation, and [2] reports him saying the club has been hit by a lot of them. The official line-ups for the Milan game confirmed three notable absentees: David Alaba, Idrissa Guèye and Vakoun Issouf Bayo were all listed as out, according to [1].
There was one piece of good news. Nicolò Zaniolo returned to the bench for the first time since the 1-0 defeat to Cagliari on 19 September. A player of his profile could add something in the final third, but a bench return is not a starting place, and nothing in the input says how fit he is. The same coverage suggests Keinan Davis was among Udinese’s better attacking players against Milan, though that assessment carries only modest confidence.
The context matters because Milan were also short of players. They travelled to Udine with several absentees, and [3] later reported eight first-team players sidelined for the Rossoneri. Even so, Udinese could not take advantage of a weakened opponent. Milan remain unbeaten in Serie A, and Udinese’s problems cannot be put down to injuries alone.
Backing the coach, with contingency plans
The club’s public message is one of support. [4] reports that Udinese are backing Kosta Runjaic and that their support is not time-limited. That is a strong statement for a side in the relegation zone with a six-game losing run.
The same report adds a complication. The club has reportedly made exploratory contact with possible replacements, naming Luca Gotti, Paolo Zanetti and Francesco Calzona, though no formal talks have taken place. This is a rumour rather than a confirmed move, and it should be read that way. Clubs often sound out options quietly while publicly backing the man in charge, and exploratory contact is not the same as a decision.
The next two matches are described as decisive, first at Parma and then at home against Roma. That sets a short window. A coach who has been publicly backed can lose that backing quickly if a seventh straight defeat arrives, particularly with a fixture against Roma next. For now the board’s words and the reported background contacts point in different directions, and results will probably decide which one wins out.
What it means
The table is blunt. Udinese are 17th with four points from eight games, and the nine goals scored against 18 conceded show a team that has been outplayed at both ends. One win and one draw in eight games is not a record that survives many more weeks without improvement.
The form line is worse than the table. Six consecutive league defeats, including home losses to Cagliari, Lecce and Milan, means Udinese have not taken a point since the early weeks of the season. Four of the six defeats came without scoring more than one goal, so the attack needs to produce something as much as the defence needs to tighten up.
The next fixture is Parma against Udinese on 28 October. The question it asks is simple: can a squad missing Alaba, Guèye and Bayo, and perhaps easing Zaniolo back in, stop the losing run against a side with its own reasons to be motivated? The site’s forecast for that match locks 24 hours before kick-off. A result at Parma would ease pressure on Runjaic before Roma arrive. Another defeat would make the reported contingency plans far harder to ignore.
Sources
- Football Italia: Serie A official line-ups: Udinese vs. Milan football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Runjaic: ‘Udinese full of life, not the right time to talk about my future’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Milan suffer another injury blow with Loftus-Cheek out for at least 2 weeks football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Udinese back Runjaic despite disastrous start to the season football-italia.net ↩
