Serie A | Torino 1-2 Udinese: Zaniolo inspires surprising victory

Udinese had the ball in the net after 18 minutes with Christian Kabasele’s header, and it was initially disallowed for offside. However, the VAR review showed he was onside, and it was ruled out for handball instead.

Moments later, Cesare Casadei’s header forced a tough save out of Maduka Okoye, while Nicolò Zaniolo’s volley flashed just wide from the edge of the area.

An acrobatic Giovanni Simeone chest and bicycle-kick volley was straight at Okoye, but Udinese had two huge opportunities.

First Zaniolo on the counter from Jurgen Ekkelenkamp’s pass fired straight at Alberto Paleari. Moments later, the Toro goalkeeper’s clearance hit Keinan Davis and the ricochet bounced inches wide of the empty net.

Ekkelenkamp went on another dangerous counter-attack to test Paleari from a tricky angle on the stroke of half-time.

Udinese were the better team and took a deserved lead after the restart when Nikola Vlasic lost it in midfield, sparking another Ekkelenkamp counter, as Zanoli laid it off for Zaniolo to sweep home.

Davis was ready to add a second soon after when sent through by Ekkelenkamp, but this time Paleari rushed off his line to parry.

Thomas Kristensen almost gifted Torino an equaliser with his comical back-pass without looking, so Okoye had to sprint back to clear off the line.

Arthur Atta’s counter-attack sent Davis through, but Saul Coco managed two twist at the last second and deflect the finish over the bar.

Torino also threatened, as Okoye got just enough on Cyril Ngonge’s angled drive to slow it down, allowing Kabasele to clear off the line.

Udinese doubled their lead late on when Davis went on the counter down the left and put in the low cross, so Ekkelenkamp intelligently dinked it over the on-rushing Paleari.

Torino kept it open to the end, as Valentino Lazaro whipped in a cross from the left for the Cesare Casadei towering header.

The Granata almost equalised with the last kick of the game, as Duvan Zapata laid it off for Casadei, forcing a desperate block out of Oumar Solet.

Torino 1-2 Udinese

Zaniolo 50 (U), Ekkelenkamp 82 (U), Casadei 87 (T)

07-01-2026 19:45 MatchDay 19 Olympic Grande Torino Stadium

Torino

Udinese 1 - 2

Player statistic

1st half

Saúl Coco

11'

2nd half

		50'		Nicolò Zaniolo (Assist: Alessandro Zanoli)
		69'		Thomas Kristensen
		82'		Jurgen Ekkelenkamp (Assist: Keinan Davis)
Cesare Casadei (Assist: Valentino Lazaro)

87'     Cesare Casadei

90+1'    

Match statistic

54 Possession % 46 10 Total shots 9 4 Shots on target 4 5 Shots off target 3 1 Blocked shots 2 3 Corners 6 1 Offsides 0 16 Fouls 8 Torino Udinese

Starting lineups

1 Alberto Paleari Goalkeeper 44

Ardian Ismajli Defender 77' 13

Guillermo Maripán Defender 23

Saúl Coco Defender 20

Valentino Lazaro Defender 22

Cesare Casadei Midfielder 6 Emirhan Ilkhan Midfielder 66' 10

Nikola Vlasic Midfielder 7

Zakaria Aboukhlal Midfielder 66' 92 Alieu Njie Attacker 46' 18

Giovanni Simeone Attacker 66' 40 Maduka Okoye Goalkeeper 59 Alessandro Zanoli Defender 61' 27

Christian Kabasele Defender 11

Hassane Kamara Defender 28

Oumar Solet Defender 31

Thomas Kristensen Defender 85' 8

Jesper Karlström Midfielder 32

Jurgen Ekkelenkamp Midfielder 85' 38 Lennon Miller Midfielder 80' 10

Nicolò Zaniolo Midfielder

61' 9

Keinan Davis Attacker

Substitutes

32 Kristjan Asllani Midfielder 81 Franco Israel Goalkeeper 21 Ali Dembélé Defender 71 Mihai Popa Goalkeeper 93 Mattia Pellini Defender 94 Wisdom Acquah Goalkeeper 19

Ché Adams Attacker 46' 91

Duván Zapata Attacker 66' 14

Tino Anjorin Midfielder 66' 26

Cyril Ngonge Attacker 66' 61

Adrien Tameze Midfielder 77' 93

Daniele Padelli Goalkeeper 17

Iker Bravo Attacker 90 Răzvan Sava Goalkeeper 4

Sandi Lovric Midfielder 1 Alessandro Nunziante Goalkeeper 16 Matteo Palma Defender 77 Rui Modesto Midfielder 29 Abdoulaye Camara Midfielder 7 Idrissa Gueye Attacker 24

Jakub Piotrowski Midfielder 61' 14

Arthur Atta Midfielder 61' 19

Kingsley Ehizibue Defender 80' 13 Nicolò Bertola Defender 85' 6

Oier Zarraga Midfielder

85'