Udinese salvaged a potentially crucial point in their pursuit of Serie A survival after a stoppage-time strike from Isaac Success earned Fabio Cannavaro’s men a battling 1-1 draw against Napoli. The result extends the visitors’ dismal away record to just two wins in their last 13 matches (four draws, seven losses). Sitting three points adrift of safety coming into the contest, Udinese knew a positive start was needed against a Napoli side winless on their last three league outings. The opening stages were closely fought, as the visitors dominated possession but created little of note in the final third. That provided Cannavaro’s men with plenty of encouragement as the first half progressed, and Lazar Samardžić and Jaka Bijol both missed the target with a pair of half chances before the break.Juve and Roma share spoils in battle for Champions League as Lukaku scoresDetermined to improve after the restart, Napoli came close to breaking the deadlock within two minutes when Jens Cajuste’s low strike was superbly thwarted by Maduka Okoye in the Udinese goal. Not to be denied, the visitors found the opener shortly after, with Victor Osimhen rising highest in the six-yard box to head home from Matteo Politano’s delivery. Having picked up just two points from their previous six league matches, the Bianconeri went in pursuit of an immediate response, but Alex Meret stood firm in the visitors’ goal to deny a powerful effort from Success.
Udinese continued to search for an equaliser with time ticking into the final quarter-hour, however, it was Napoli who looked the more likely to alter the scoreline with Osimhen seeing a well-taken strike ruled out for offside and another effort saved by Okoye. Grateful for those late reprieves, the hosts managed to rescue a dramatic point in the second minute of stoppage time, as Success found himself in the right place at the right time to finish clinically from Thomas Kristensen’s knock-down in the box. The result moves Udinese a point closer to safety with three games remaining, while Napoli’s winless run extends to four matches.
SERIE A – MATCHDAY 35FridayTorino – Bologna 0-0Saturday Monza – Lazio 2-2 (0-1)/Djuric 73, 90+2 – Immobile 11, Vecino 83/Sassuolo – Inter 1-0 (1-0)/Lauriente 20/Sunday Cagliari – Lecce 1-1 (1-0)/Mina 26 – Krstovic 84/Empoli – Frosinone 0-0Verona – Fiorentina 2-1 (1-1)/Lazovic 13 pen, Noslin 59 – Castrovilli 42/AC Milan – Genoa 3-3 (1-1)/Florenzi 45, Gabbia 72, Giroud 75 – Retegui 5 pen, Ekuban 48, Thiaw 87 og/Roma – Juventus 1-1 (1-1)/Lukaku 15 – Bremer 31/MondaySalernitana – Atalanta 1-2 (1-0)/Tchaouna 18 – Scamacca 57, Koopmeiners 63/Udinese – Napoli 1-1 (0-0)/Success 90+2 – Osimhen 51/