Serie A | Udinese 0-2 Genoa: Vieira accepts early red card gift | OneFootball

Udinese paid the price for a moment of Isaak Toure madness, sent off in the fourth minute, as Patrick Vieira picked up his first win on the Genoa bench.

The Friulani had one point from four rounds, as Jaka Bijol sat out a ban with Gerard Deulofeu and Alexis Sanchez injured. Vieira made his debut as coach with a 2-2 draw against Cagliari, still missing Koni De Winter, Jeff Ekhator, Caleb Ekuban and Ruslan Malinovskyi.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Both teams switched to a four-man defence, but that didn’t last long for Udinese because within 90 seconds Alessandro Zanoli tried to pounce on a terrible Isaak Toure back-pass and was smashed in the face with an elbow to prevent him doing so. The VAR On-Field Review prompted an inevitable red card and reduced the hosts to 10 men for the entire match.

Maduka Okoye flew to palm away the Andrea Pinamonti free kick, but Genoa did break the deadlock when Zanoli knocked down the Aaron Martin cross for Morten Thorsby, who flicked it on for Pinamonti to turn in from close range. The striker was kept onside by Kinglsey Ehizibue.

epa11751177 Udinese’s Isaak Toure leaves the field during the Italian Serie A soccer match Udinese Calcio vs Genoa CFC at the Friuli – Bluenergy Stadium in Udine, Italy, 1 December 2024. EPA-EFE/GABRIELE MENIS

Thorsby almost made it 2-0 when he pounced on a loose ball to beat Okoye, but Lautaro Giannetti managed to make a desperate clearance from an open goal. There were also appeals for handball, though he charged it down with his leg and then fell onto the ball.

Nonetheless, 10-man Udinese were still in it, as Jordan Zemura’s snapshot was straight at the goalkeeper and they came out fighting for the restart.

However, they were also unlucky, because when Zanoli burst down the right and pulled a ball across for the tap-in, Giannetti accidentally deflected it into his own net for 2-0.

Mario Balotelli came on for the final 15 minutes, but his only contribution was a scuffed free kick as he slipped over.

Udinese 0-2 Genoa

Pinamonti 13 (G), Giannetti og 67 (G)

Sent off: Toure 4 (U)