Udinese beat Napoli 1-0 courtesy of a decisive 73rd-minute goal from Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, a result which meant Napoli failed to capitalize on AC Milan’s draw and risks losing their top position to Inter Milan.
Udinese secured an uncomfortable 1-0 defeat for Antonio Conte’s Napoli side in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, with Jurgen Ekkelenkamp scoring the emphatic winner.
The home side appeared “much the brighter and fresher” team throughout the afternoon at the Bluenergy Stadium. Udinese’s victory pushes them up to 10th place in the Serie A standings.
The match saw two potential Udinese goals disallowed by VAR: Keinan Davis was ruled offside, and Nicolo Zaniolo’s finish was overturned for a prior foul.
However, the hosts finally broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute when Ekkelenkamp capitalized on calamitous defending by Giovanni Di Lorenzo to fire a powerful, deflected shot past the goalkeeper.
Napoli failed to take advantage of AC Milan’s earlier 2-2 draw at home to Sassuolo, putting their league position at risk.
Following this loss, the Azzurri now face the possibility of being overtaken by rivals Inter Milan, who have a chance to claim the top spot if they manage to defeat 15th-placed Genoa away from home later in the fixture.
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