Udinese, alone at the top Bologna in last place

Guidolin's team (leading the league, at least until the end of Juve v AC Milan) overwhelmed the Rossoblù 2-0 with a goal in each half: one from Benatia and a penalty from Di Natale. Bologna threatened only once. Bisoli in danger

Benatia celebrates after making it 1-0. ANSA

The 2-0 defeat that Udinese handed to Bologna leaves them at the top of the table, leading in the Serie A (alone, at least until the end of Juventus v AC Milan this evening); it is something that has never happened in the history of the Italian top flight. Eleven points, seven goals forward and, most importantly, only one goal conceded (the best defence in the league); all these things make the team from Friuli the one to beat. But beneath the numbers there is also a lot of substance, from the strength of a collective that plays from memory, to their individual efforts; Torje in particular has shown himself to be an excellent foil to Di Natale. Benatia opened the scoring in the first half and a penalty from Di Natale closed things out. Bologna were practically harmless spectators in the first 45 minutes, but then became more involved after halftime. But only one point in five games condemns them to the bottom of the rankings, along with Cesena. Bisoli can certainly not feel too comfortable.

benatia opens — In the first half Udinese, who welcomed back Ferronetti after 15 months, obtained the maximum results with almost minimal effort. The team from Friuli only had to play by memory, and even in times of low inspiration all they needed to do was to switch to autopilot and avoid lowering their attention too much, which was enough to keep them in control. It was also enough to score goals, since the opponent they were facing today was Bologna. The visitors, who were careless, often disjointed, and never with an inspiring idea, immediately lost Antonsson to a muscle problem (Loria took his place). They tried to limit the damage as much as possible, which was until the 29th minute. Then, as tradition called for (it was their sixth goal scored in the first half hour), Udinese took the lead, thanks to the merits of Benatia. It was his first goal this season, but it also had much to do with Bologna's rearguard, which was definitely distracted on this occasion. The Moroccan's celebration, sucking his thumb with his hand on his forehead, was a dedication to his daughter with a fever. But then Benatia's thoughts moved on, and he was back to closing down spaces and pushing forward, playing an inventive game of great depth. Bologna settled down a bit better on the flanks, but the hosts firmly maintained the initiative and ball possession, giving the impression that they could find the second goal whenever they wanted. Basta found the net in the 44th minute after a nice combination with Torje, among the best in black and white, but Peruzzo disallowed the Serb's goal for offside. Di Vaio finally troubled Handanovic in the only opportunity that Bologna created in the entire first half, but the Udinese keeper did well to thwart the effort.

Di Natale scores the penalty to make it 2-0. ANSA

di natale seals it — The second half got underway and the pace of the game had picked up: Raggi had a shot and Di Natale responded with a machine-gun fire. Agliardi managed to save twice and the third, from a great position, ended up in the side netting. This all happened in the space of a few minutes. Bisoli sent on Acquafresca for a flagging Di Vaio. In spite of the high temperatures both teams looked sharper and more tenacious than they had in the first half. Finally Handanovic was called upon to intervene on a left-footed Diamante free kick. Bologna seemed to be growing in confidence, but Udinese didn't ease off on their attacking play(Agliardi saving from Torje, before he was replaced by Abdi), although it was better organised that in the first half. Then, as only the great teams can, when Bologna were playing their best football of the match, Udinese sealed the game with a knock-out blow: Armero sped down the left wing, Perez pulled him down from behind in the box (picking up a yellow card, so he'll miss the next game, in Novara after the break)and Totò Di Natale's right foot shot from the spot sent Agliardi the wrong way. This happened on 27 minutes meaning that the game was virtually over. If you look at the rest of the match it was all Udinese and no Bologna, who had resigned themselves to their fourth consecutive defeat and bottom place in the league table. Bisoli's future looks bleak.

http://english.gazzetta.it/Football/02-10-2011/udinese-alone-at-the-top-803135973413.shtml