Lucca and Davis knock out Cagliari, Udinese win 2-0

Lucca and Davis launch Udinese who scores a goal in each half and beats Cagliari 2-0 in the first match of the ninth matchday of the championship. The expulsion of Makoumbou weighs on the economy of the match with the rossoblu forced to play for more than an hour with the man less. Instead, the Bianconeri dream as they momentarily catch Juventus in third place in front of their home crowd, -3 behind league leaders Napoli. Three new features for Runjaic compared to San Siro: Payero and Kamara in midfield, Davis up front with Lucca in place of Iker Bravo. Nicola throws Gaetano behind Piccoli and leaves Viola and Luvumbo on the bench. Territorial supremacy and forcing by Udinese right from the start, but few dangerous conclusions at the start. The first noteworthy one arrives midway through the half after the good work of Lucca who protects the ball and entrusts it to Lovric: attempt by the Slovenian from the edge of the area, Scuffet blocks it to the ground without worries. Lovric tries again from a long distance without framing the target, before the turning point of the match which arrives at the half hour mark: Makoumbou, already booked for a foul on Payero, conspicuously holds the Argentine player in midfield, thus stopping a Juventus restart.

For the match director there are no doubts and the second yellow arrives, the sensational naivety leaves Cagliari with 10 men. Strengthened by their numerical superiority, Udinese breaks through and Nicola’s move to strengthen the midfield by inserting Deiola for Gaetano is of little use. Scuffet saves by cornering a shot from Ehizibue at the near post, but can do nothing shortly after, when Lucca stands alone on a cross from Kamara’s midfield and breaks the deadlock. The Sardinian team tried to react generously in the second half, but Runjaic’s team defended with order and never got into trouble. Udinese, however, is definitely scarier when they start again. On a pass from Karlstrom, Ehizibue catches a dangerous ball in the Cagliari area but fails to provide an assist to a teammate. As the action develops, Mina and Azzi hinder each other and the ball ends up in Lovric who sends it just wide. Nicola tries to give a shock with the forward insertions of Lapadula and Luvumbo, while Zarraga and Bravo enter on the other. However, Davis takes care of closing the score by accelerating when the pace drops, Luperto jumps cleanly and fires a missile that goes under the crossbar. The Bluenergy Stadium celebrates, Cagliari falls after three consecutive useful results.