Surprise package Udinese extend winning run to six games at Verona
MILAN: Udinese won their sixth straight Serie A match with Monday’s last-gasp 2-1 triumph at Verona which keeps them a point behind league leaders Napoli.
Jaka Bijol headed Udinese to the three points in the third minute of stoppage time at the Stadio Bentegodi to ensure that they stayed third, with Atalanta trailing Napoli on goal difference.
Andrea Sotil’s side levelled through Beto’s well-taken fith goal of the season with 20 minutes remainingaterasuperbassistfromgerarddeulofeu.
Josh Doig had volleyed spirited Verona into the lead midway through the first half.
Udinese have beaten Inter Milan and Roma in a winning run which has given them their best ever start to a Serie A season, a sign that they could be a contender at least for the European places come the end of the season.
Verona stay in the relegation zone ater their third straight defeat, two points from safety.
Earlier, Juventus swept aside Bologna 3-0 on Sunday to ease their recent troubles as Atalanta continued their dream start to the Serie A season with a 1-0 win over Fiorentina which kept them level on points with leaders Napoli.
A routine third league win of the season against dismal opposition will stave off questions about coach Massimiliano Allegri’s future until at least next weekend, when they travel to champions AC Milan.
They are seventh, seven points behind the leading duo of Napoli and Atalanta thanks to Filip Kostic’s first goal for the club midway through the first half and two more ater the break from strike pairing Dusan Vlahovic and Arkadiusz Milik.
“We hadn’t won a game for a month, when we got back to the dressing room we almost couldn’t believe it,” said Allegri to DAZN.
“We have to take it one step at a time, hopefully we can close the gap like we did last season.”
Fans of Italy’s biggest club are not filling the Allianz Stadium in Turin and they will not be won over by a home win over Bologna, who are one point above the relegation zone and have shown no signs of improvement since replacing Sinisa Mihajlovic with Thiago Mota earlier this month.