Monza’s struggles at home continued as they suffered a 3-2 defeat to a clinical Udinese side at the Stadio Brianteo, extending their run to just one win in their last 24 Serie A home matches.
The hosts dominated the early stages but struggled to create clear-cut chances, with Manga Foe Ondoa forcing Maduka Okoye into a smart save. The contest soon settled into a midfield battle before bursting into life midway through the first half.
Monza launched an attack down the right, with Eddy Kouadio producing a powerful run to reach the byline before cutting the ball back towards Patrick Cutrone. However, James Abankwah produced a superb last-ditch challenge to deny the striker from close range.
Udinese had offered little going forward but took the lead moments later. After a chaotic sequence inside the Monza penalty area, the ball fell kindly to Jakub Piotrowski, who kept his composure to guide a low finish into the bottom corner.
Read Also: finnish-club-fc-inter-turku-signs-former-eagles-captain-daniel-bameyi
Monza responded strongly and restored parity five minutes later. Cutrone refused to give up on a long ball before working it back to Ricardo Mangas, whose excellent pass split the Udinese defence and released Andrea Colpani. The forward kept his cool to finish through Okoye.
Just when it appeared the teams would enter half-time level, Udinese struck twice in stoppage time. Demba Thiam endured a moment to forget when he somehow turned Hassane Kamara’s speculative effort into his own net. Moments later, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp produced a stunning half-volley into the top corner to give Udinese a 3-1 lead at the break.
Monza struggled to respond immediately after the restart but eventually found a way back into the contest shortly after the hour mark. Ebenezer Akinsanmiro delivered a delicate cross into the area, which Gustavo Varela met with a header to reduce the deficit to one.
Ivan Jurić used all five of his substitutes as Monza threw everything forward in search of an equaliser, but Udinese defended resolutely to secure all three points.
The defeat leaves Monza with consecutive losses at the start of their Serie A campaign, making their return to the top flight particularly difficult. Udinese, meanwhile, remain unbeaten after following their opening-day draw with victory here, moving them temporarily into second place in the Serie A table.
