Nigeria goalkeeper Maduka Okoye made a costly error as Udinese suffered their fourth consecutive defeat with a 2–1 loss to Torino in the Italian Serie A.
Udinese had fought back to level the match after falling behind, but Okoye’s mistake allowed substitute Sandro Kulenovic to score the decisive goal in the 67th minute.
Torino took the lead through Daniel Bragança in the 36th minute before Jurgen Ekkelenkamp equalised for Udinese seven minutes later.
However, Okoye’s mistimed attempt to clear the ball resulted in a collision with teammate Nicolo Bertola, leaving Kulenovic with an open goal to restore Torino’s advantage.
Udinese coach Kosta Runjaic compared the incident with an earlier error that contributed to his side’s defeat against Cagliari before the international break. He also accepted responsibility for the team’s poor run of results.
“We lost because of a big mistake, like against Cagliari. As head coach, I’m responsible too. It was a lack of communication and perception, and with mistakes like these you end up losing games,” Runjaic said, according to Football Italia, citing TuttoMercatoWeb.
The coach also expressed disappointment with Udinese’s attacking performance, arguing that the team had failed to create enough scoring opportunities. He noted that Torino’s opening goal had come from a set piece.
“We didn’t score or create many chances. The defensive error is costly, but Torino’s first goal also came from a set piece. Congratulations to Torino,” he added.
Runjaic said he would work to maintain unity within the squad and keep morale high as the team attempts to recover from its difficult spell.
“I’ll try to keep the team united and morale high. In the end, the result is that we lost, and we have to get through this moment by encouraging one another,” he said.
Despite the defeat, Runjaic praised the performances of defender Oumar Solet and goalscorer Ekkelenkamp, while expressing hope that injured players would return to strengthen the squad.
The result left Udinese with four points after six league matches, according to the supplied report, extending their losing streak to four consecutive games.
