Udinese manager Kosta Runjaic has praised Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye despite his side’s 3-0 defeat to Lecce in Serie A on Sunday.
Okoye came under scrutiny after an error contributed to Udinese’s previous league defeat against Torino. However, the Nigerian retained his place in goal and produced several important saves against Lecce.
Goals from Kialonda Gaspar, Konan N’Dri and Jamil Siebert condemned Udinese to their fifth consecutive defeat in the Italian top flight, leaving the team struggling for results.
Despite the scoreline, Okoye prevented Lecce from extending their advantage on several occasions. He denied N’Dri and Mohamed Kaba, while also making crucial interventions against Willem Geubbels, including saves in one-on-one situations.
His performance earned recognition from Runjaic, who admitted that Udinese had delivered a disappointing collective display but singled out the goalkeeper for his contribution.
“Except for Davis and Alaba in the first half, the team didn’t show its best side, and we made numerous mistakes. Okoye also played well and contributed,” Runjaic said after the match.
“Nevertheless, in general terms, success and failure are collective experiences. I did not expect a game of this nature.”
Lecce took the lead in the 11th minute through Gaspar, who headed home from a corner, before N’Dri doubled the visitors’ advantage in the 33rd minute.
Siebert completed the scoring in the 86th minute, sealing a convincing victory for Lecce at Udinese’s home ground.
The result extended Udinese’s losing streak to five matches, increasing pressure on the team to improve its performances.
Okoye’s individual showing, however, offered a positive note on a difficult afternoon for the hosts, with the goalkeeper demonstrating his ability to keep his side in the contest despite the defensive and collective shortcomings.
The Super Eagles goalkeeper has continued to feature regularly for Udinese this season, although his clean-sheet record remains limited. His performance against Lecce underlined the distinction between individual goalkeeping contributions and a team’s overall result.
