Venezia FC claimed a vital 2-1 victory over Udinese at the Stadio Penzo, with Toma Bašić and Kike Pérez scoring either side of Matías Moreno’s own goal to leave the visitors bottom of Serie A.
All three goals arrived after the interval. After a goalless first half, Bašić broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute, converting Antoine Hainaut’s low cross. Udinese equalised four minutes later when Moreno turned the ball into his own net, but Pérez restored Venezia’s lead in the 65th minute, collecting Pasquale Mazzocchi’s pass before firing a superb left-footed strike into the top corner.
Venezia coach Davide Nicola was pleased with his players’ response.
“I liked the performance because in the first half-hour the team played well, with the right courage. We created four or five chances and I would have liked us to take the lead.
“Instead, you do not score, then you score and concede, and you see these emotional ups and downs. We have to believe in the work we are doing.”
Asked whether the Penzo could become a fortress, Nicola said: “The supporters deserve it for the help they give us. It would be great to turn this stadium into a fortress. But being effective at home is not enough. We need a balance between what we achieve at home and away.”
Udinese coach Paolo Zanetti felt his side had competed for much of the contest but was frustrated by their response after falling behind for a second time.
“The numbers show that until that point we did not deserve to lose,” he said. “We probably needed to make better use of our chances, be more clinical and give less away. The problem came after conceding an avoidable goal, when our reaction was very passive. We conceded a spectacular goal and from then on we did not have the emotional or physical strength.”
“I cannot say the team had the wrong attitude. At certain moments we struggled with the pace of the game and were arriving late, particularly when running back. We have to raise our intensity. This team is suffering; it is human. We are bottom, and it cannot get much worse, but everyone needs to understand that we have to work hard and do much more.”
He added: “This team has everything it needs to stay up, but we have to raise the level. We need to increase both the physical and mental intensity.”
The victory lifted Venezia above Udinese, who suffered another defeat on Zanetti’s debut.