Udinese looked destined to fail at the San Siro, but they defied the odds to beat unmighty Milan 1-0 and finally get off the mark in the 2023/24 Serie A season. It took the Friulians 11 matchdays into the new campaign to get into the win column, though they made their fans’ patience worthwhile.
Gabriele Cioffi, who returned to the helm last weekend following the sacking of Andrea Sottil, drew 1-1 against Monza on his second touchline debut for Udinese. When Cagliari crashed his side out of the Coppa Italia in midweek, Cioffi’s men seemed doomed before tonight’s kick-off.
However, Udinese produced arguably their best performance of the season and took advantage of Yacine Adli’s sloppy defensive reaction to sink Milan. Robert Pereyra converted a penalty early in the second half to arrest his side’s dreadful 14-game winless run in Serie A.
Cioffi couldn’t hide his delight for bringing Udinese back to winning ways at long last.
“I saw a good attitude from the team in both the performances against Monza and Cagliari, but the bad luck we had there was repaid today with interest,” the Udinese boss said, as quoted by TMW.
“It is how I see football, you have to take the game to the opponent. We had very few chances of success, but we had to come here and give it our best. I think we showed great courage, pride and showed some good football.
“We needed a night like this and I promised to dedicate it to the people of Udine,” the thrilled Udinese manager finished.
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