Udinese, great numbers also in Verona. The ranking is there for all to see with those 19 points that, after eight days, are worth the place behind the two leaders Napoli and Atalanta. It is the fuel that has ignited the engine of enthusiasm here in Friuli, where fans caress – understandably, after years of “diet” – dreams of glory, scrolling through the calendar of the great Serie A, favorites in the race for Europe, together with that of the bianconeri. It costs nothing. At the most we will realize, over time, they were only hopes.
Yet alongside the irrational that must feed the passion of each fan there are guarantees. The one represented by the words of Andrea Sottil a few minutes after the sprint victory at the Bentegodi is a sort of manifesto of his Udinese “I liked the mentality we are pursuing: playing to win.”
Play to win, without ever giving up, until the ninetieth. Indeed, beyond. «We are all on track, the boys follow me, we work hard in everyday life. Going under it happens, however, as we have previously pushed on the accelerator, head down, and we have deservedly overturned the race », added the coach from Venaria Reale. Who teased on a possible decline also cut it short: “There must not be.”
To remain at these levels, it will have to continue to dominate even among the statistics. Literally impressive. “Sics Sport”, for example, provided the graph of the offensive danger of the individual teams in the last round. Udinese is ahead of all with 82 points, ahead of Lazio (79), Juventus and Sassuolo (77 tied).
Atalanta, the next opponent, is just above the average level of the championship, at 48, the other leaders, Napoli, even a little below, at 41. As if to say, in upcoming head-to-head clashes the bianconeri will be able to play for it by exhibiting the same numbers.
The “Opta” detectors, on the other hand, wanted to put Gerard Deulofeu, one of the leaders of this Udinese, under the lens, if only because world big names like Kevin De Bruyne (with 8), Neymar and Lionel Messi (both with 7) have provided more assists than the number 10 of Sottil who, thanks to the unmarking touch for Beto, on the occasion of the first goal against Verona, reached an altitude of 6. It is significant to note the “conversion” of the Catalan who in the previous two seasons had provided the same number of assistance to his teammates, but in 47 races.
The vocation to pass is however an art in which all of Udinese excels. In Verona, again reading the data collected by “Opta”, he made 554 against 223 of the opposing team, not good only to raise the average of ball possession (68.3% in the first half, even 69.7% in the second ), or the number of balls played (738) since the offensive plots led to 2 goals, 8 shots on target, as many out, 5 rejected. A dominance more than what the 2-1 says in the sprint.
Udinese always plays to win, Sottil is right, otherwise he would not have made 174 verticalizations (against 109 for Hellas), 29 played in the other area (against 13). And if he continues to hammer like this it will be pains. For opponents.