The 33rd matchday of Serie A gives three golden points toHellas Veronawhich gets the most from the direct clash against theUdinese. Two teams that were paired before tonight give life to a vibrant match full of opportunities. Lucca makes a mistake and Pereyra has a goal disallowed, while Diego Coppola is decisive: his break in the 92nd minute is worth the victory and the +4 over third-last Frosinone. Hellas dreams, Udinese suffers an abrupt stop.
THE MATCH
Udinese wastes in the second half and Hellas Verona punishes them in the 92nd minute: this is the film of the salvation clash, which is won by the Scala team thanks to a goal by defender Diego Coppola. There is great fear of losing at the Bentegodi and it can be seen from the very first minutes, in which the teams study each other and opportunities are lacking: Hellas rings with Coppola and Guida displays the beauty of three yellow cards in a few moments. The match starts only after twenty minutes and it is the Scala players who push, first with Folorunsho and then with Cabal, without finding the goal. Udinese travels in sudden gusts and comes close to scoring in the 28th minute, when Samardzic finds Lucca and Montipò has to overcome himself with a great reflex. The Serbian is very inspired and even tries first-hand, but the great chance of the first half is for Hellas: Noslin heads the ball and hits the post in the 44th minute. In the second half they immediately attacked the visiting team, with Lucca sensationally wasting the chance to take the lead. Bijol also comes close to scoring and Baroni’s double offensive substitution does not change the inertia of the match, with Udinese seeing Pereyra’s goal canceled out: there was an initial offside from Tucu, expertly caught by Samardzic’s through ball. Hellas responds with counterattacks, wasting one with Noslin, but in the final minutes caution and tension win. Kamara is the one who tries with the greatest intensity, winning the duel with Centonze by a landslide, but it is not Udinese who triumphs: in the 92nd minute Coppola anticipates Bijol, soaring over the corner taken by Duda, and seals the victory for Hellas Verona. The Scaligeri fly to 31 points, catching Empoli and moving to +4 on third-last Frosinone. Udinese remains stuck at 28, awaiting recovery of the missing 18 minutes against Roma on Thursday.
REPORT CARDS
Coppola 7 – In previous outings he had too many uncertainties, but against Udinese he had a dream evening. He nullifies Lucca in every single duel, giving him just one (wasted) chance and scores the winning goal in the 92nd minute.
Suat Serdar 6.5 – He receives a yellow card after less than a quarter of an hour, but never drops in the intensity of the contrasts and the pace. He comes out exhausted after a race made up of recoveries and running at breakneck speed.
Noslin 6 – He receives very few playable balls, but always knows how to make himself dangerous. With his head and his feet, as he demonstrates by hitting a pole with a powerful take-off. He orchestrates the restarts and fights like a lion.
Samardzic 6.5 – Directs Udinese’s entire maneuver to perfection. He serves two sensational balls, but one is wasted by Lucca and the other is offside by Pereyra. He also tries to score himself, to no avail. Top player performance.
Lucca 5 – The grade is the result of his performance, colorless. Coppola and Magnani manage to manage it and, on the only balls received, he first wastes it in front of Montipò and then kicks in the corner with an off-axis twist. A step backwards that costs a lot, given the knockout in the 92nd minute.
THE SCORESHEET
HELLAS VERONA (4-2-3-1) – Montipò 6.5; Centonze 5.5, Coppola 7, Magnani 6, Cabal 6 (38′ st Suslov sv); Serdar 6.5 (38′ st Duda 6), Dani Silva 5.5 (14′ st Świderski 6); Mitrovic 5.5 (14′ st Bonazzoli 6), Folorunsho 6.5, Lazovic 6 (32′ st Vinagre 6); Noslin 6. Available: Chiesa, Perilli, Belahyane, Tavşan, Henry, Charlys, Tchatchoua, Cissé, Corradi. All. Baroni.
UDINESE (3-5-1-1) – Okoye 6; Perez 6, Bijol 5.5, Christensen 6; Ehizibue 6 (36′ st Joao Ferreira sv), Samardzic 6.5, Walace 6, Payero 6, Chamber 6; Pereyra 6; Lucca 5 (46′ st Success sv). Positions: Silvestri, Padelli, Ebosele, Oier Zarraga, Davis, Tikvic, Brenner, Kabasele, Zemura. All. Cioffi.
Referee: Guide.
Marker: 47′ st Coppola (V).
Warned: Serdar (V), Cabal (V), Walace (U), Samardzic (U).
OPTA STATISTICS
Diego Coppola’s is the latest goal scored by Verona in Serie A since the goal scored by Thomas Henry on 3 December 2023 (96.36), which came against Udinese.
Verona have won two of the last four home matches played in Serie A, as many successes as those achieved in the previous 11 home outings in the top division.
Hellas Verona have scored in each of their last seven Serie A home games, the club’s longest such streak since a run of 10 home games between December 2021 and May 2022, under Igor Tudor.
Only Salernitana (22) and Sassuolo (18) have conceded more goals in the last 15 minutes of play than Udinese (16, like Frosinone) this championship.
No team has conceded more headed goals than Udinese this season (12, like Lecce and Frosinone).
Excluding the suspended match against Roma, Udinese have lost two games in a row in Serie A for the first time since last January (Milan and Atalanta).
Excluding the suspended match against Roma, Udinese have lost three of their last four matches in Serie A, as many defeats as those recorded in their previous nine outings in the tournament.
Hellas Verona hit at least two woodwork in a Serie A match for the first time since May 2023 (two vs Atalanta).
Only Roma (82) and Lazio (79) have more yellow cards in this Serie A than Udinese (77, like Lecce).