Lecce left the Bluenergy Stadium with a 3-0 victory over Udinese on Sunday, 18 October, turning a disciplined away performance into one of the sharper results of Serie A’s seventh round. The visitors scored from a corner in each half of the opening period, resisted Udinese’s attempt to change the pattern after the interval, and finished the afternoon with a counter-attacking third.
Lecce make their early authority count
- Udinese began with Giorgi Chakvetadze testing Lecce early, his seventh-minute strike from outside the area saved after Mërgim Vojvoda’s pass.
- Lecce took the lead in the 11th minute. After Vojvoda conceded a corner, Antonino Gallo delivered into the area and Kialonda Gaspar headed in from close range.
- Udinese had to contend with a brief stoppage around the 13th minute, while both sides also saw early forward moves halted by offside decisions.
- Oumar Solet forced a low save with an effort from outside the box in the 23rd minute, but Lecce continued to carry a threat when the game opened up.
- Amar Fatah struck the crossbar in the 36th minute after Konan N’Dri led a counterattack, a warning that arrived shortly after Keinan Davis had narrowly missed for Udinese.
- Lecce’s afternoon brought an enforced change in the 41st minute, when Lassana Coulibaly went off injured and Mohamed Kaba entered.
- The second goal came in the 33rd minute from another Lecce corner. Tiago Gabriel’s initial header was blocked, but after Kialonda Gaspar helped the ball back into the danger area, N’Dri finished from close range.
- Hassane Kamara was booked for dangerous play in the 43rd minute after fouling N’Dri.
- Before the interval ended, Lecce created further openings: N’Dri, Willem Geubbels and Kaba all had efforts stopped, while Geubbels sent another counter-attacking chance just wide. Lecce went in 2-0 ahead.
Udinese change personnel but find no route back
Udinese made three alterations at half-time, introducing Matteo Palma for David Alaba, Jakub Piotrowski for Oier Zarraga and Juan Arizala for Kamara. Alessandro Zanoli later replaced Enzo Ebosse, while Unai Gómez came on for Chakvetadze in the 64th minute.
- Konan N’Dri opened the second half with a long-range attempt saved by Maduka Okoye, while Udinese sought a response through a Davis header from a Vojvoda corner and an Ekkelenkamp effort from distance.
- Piotrowski appeared to give Udinese a way back in the 59th minute after Arizala’s through ball, but the goal was ruled out following a VAR review for offside.
- Udinese continued to press through Piotrowski, whose shots from outside the area and header were blocked, while Palma and Arizala also failed to convert later opportunities.
- Lecce refreshed their forward line in the closing phase. Santiago Pierotti replaced Amar Fatah and Paco Esteban came on for Geubbels in the 69th and 70th minutes, before Joël Monteiro and Jamil Siebert entered for N’Dri and Youssef Maleh at 82 minutes.
- Esteban struck the left post in the 84th minute after Monteiro released him on a break, with Lecce already showing the composure of a side protecting a two-goal margin without abandoning their attacking outlets.
- The third goal followed two minutes later. Lecce broke forward again and Siebert, newly introduced from the bench, finished right-footed from the right side of the area into the top-left corner.
- Udinese continued until the end, with Solet having a late effort blocked and Gómez heading narrowly over from Ekkelenkamp’s cross, but the home side could not alter the scoreline.
A complete away-day for Lecce
The result was built on set-piece execution and carried through by Lecce’s willingness to attack the spaces that Udinese left as the home side chased the game. Gaspar’s header set the tone, N’Dri supplied the second from close range, and Siebert gave the score its final shape after the break.
For Udinese, the disallowed Piotrowski goal was the pivotal moment of the second half. The substitutions added fresh personnel and the hosts produced a sequence of attempts, but Lecce’s clean sheet remained intact. At the final whistle, the seventh-round meeting at the Bluenergy Stadium belonged entirely to the visitors: Udinese 0, Lecce 3.
