Venezia beat Udinese to climb off the bottom

Venezia beat Udinese 2-1 at the Stadio Penzo in Serie A. Toma Bašić opened the scoring, before Matías Moreno put through his own net and Kike Pérez secured the win for the home side. All three goals came after the interval. The result moved Venezia above their opponents in the standings.

The victory was Venezia’s second in the league; their only previous win had come against Nápoles, by 1-0. Davide Nicola was pleased with his team’s response. “I liked the performance: in the first half-hour the team played well, with the right courage. We created four or five chances and I would have liked us to take the lead,” he said. He also pointed to the team’s emotional swings after missed chances and the goal they conceded: “We have to believe in the work we are doing.”

The win lifted Venezia off the bottom for the first time this season, Marca reported. After 11 matches, Venezia sit 19th with 6 points, while Udinese are 20th on 5. SportNestra’s standings show Venezia with 2 wins and 9 defeats, compared with Udinese’s 1 win, 2 draws and 8 defeats. Udinese have taken one point from their last five matches, with four defeats and a draw; Venezia have two wins and three defeats over the same span.

The coaches drew different conclusions from the match. Nicola praised the supporters’ help and said it would be great to make the Penzo a fortress, while stressing that his side also needed balance away from home. Paolo Zanetti, meanwhile, was frustrated by Udinese’s response after conceding for a second time. “The numbers show that until that point we did not deserve to lose,” he said. He acknowledged that his side needed to make better use of its chances and respond more strongly after conceding an avoidable goal. Zanetti also urged his players to raise their physical and mental intensity, saying the team had what it needed to stay up.