Udinese capitalized on their chances, with Jurgen Ekkelenkamp striking twice before Florian Thauvin’s late header secured a commanding 3-0 victory over a profligate Empoli.
Fresh from holding Napoli to a 1-1 draw, the Friulani entered this match without Keinan Davis, Isaak Touré, and Maduka Okoye.
Meanwhile, Empoli were struggling, having collected just two points from their last nine outings. Their troubles deepened with Luca Marianucci serving a two-match suspension, while Tino Anjorin, Ardian Ismajli, Mattia Viti, Jacopo Fazzini, Ola Solbakken, Nicolas Haas, Pietro Pellegri, and Saba Sazonov were sidelined due to injuries.
Empoli showed early attacking intent, with Lorenzo Lucca attempting an ambitious scissor-kick volley from an Arthur Atta cross, while Lorenzo Colombo saw two efforts blocked and Emmanuel Gyasi’s angled drive well saved.
Christian Kouame also squandered an opportunity, dragging his shot wide after a swift counter led by Liam Henderson.
Marco Silvestri, facing his former club, produced a superb stop to deny Sandi Lovric’s curling attempt.
Udinese broke the deadlock from the ensuing corner. A wayward strike by Atta was cleverly redirected into the bottom corner by Ekkelenkamp, stretching to meet the ball.
The match remained open, with Kouame spurning another chance by shooting straight at the goalkeeper after a Giuseppe Pezzella cross. He later missed another opportunity, failing to convert from a promising position after a Henderson pass.
Shortly after halftime, Thauvin latched onto a through ball but lost his balance under pressure, missing the chance to extend Udinese’s lead.
Atta then set up another opportunity with a pull-back from the by-line, only for Mattia De Sciglio’s desperate block to deny Thauvin a simple tap-in.
Empoli’s best chance to equalize fell to Youssouf Maleh, who inexplicably failed to head home a Kouame cross from point-blank range.
Lucca then clipped the outside of the post from close range, while at the other end, Razvan Sava produced a double save to keep out Colombo’s angled drive and Gyasi’s rebound attempt.
Udinese doubled their advantage when Lucca’s strike was parried into Ekkelenkamp’s path, allowing him to pounce for his second goal of the night.
In the closing moments, Thauvin sealed the win, ghosting between defenders to nod in a pinpoint Martin Payero cross from the right.
The Frenchman nearly added a second in stoppage time, but Silvestri stood firm to deny him from a tight angle.
