Venezia 2-1 Udinese: three points and a step off the bottom in a relegation six-pointer

Four defeats in their last 5 league games. Just one win. And yet Venezia found the 3 points exactly where they needed them most: in the head-to-head to avoid finishing bottom. It ends 2-1.

A tightly packed table

After 11 matchdays, this is the picture. Venezia are 19th on 6 points: 2 wins, 9 defeats, 8 goals scored and 21 conceded. Udinese are 20th and last on 5 points: 1 win, 2 draws, 8 defeats, 12 goals scored and 25 conceded.

Going into the game, last place belonged to Venezia. Now they have handed it to Udinese, who had the chance to pull clear and instead slipped to the foot of the table. You know how it goes: in a relegation battle this tight, even a 1-point cushion over last place matters. And that is exactly the margin Venezia now have.

Form: two sides in trouble

Venezia came into the game on the back of a rough spell. In their last 5 league games they lost away at Atalanta (1-3), then beat Napoli 1-0 at home. After that came 3 more defeats in a row: 0-1 away at Genoa, 0-2 at home to Inter and 0-1 away at Como. In total, 2 goals scored and 7 conceded. Against Udinese they scored 2, as many as in the previous 5 games put together.

Udinese were in even worse shape. In their last 5 league games: no wins, 1 draw, 4 defeats, 3 goals scored and 12 conceded. In date order: 1-2 away at Torino, 0-3 at home to Lecce, 0-2 at home to Milan, 0-0 away at Parma and 2-5 at home to Roma. The defensive numbers are the real concern: 25 goals conceded in 11 games, including the 2 on Friday, the worst record of the two sides.

The head-to-head record didn't favor Venezia

On paper, history pointed the other way. In the last 5 meetings, Udinese had won 4 times and Venezia just once, with no draws. They were high-scoring games: 19 goals in 5 matches. The last meeting had ended 2-1 to Udinese. This time the scoreline is the same, with the roles reversed.

In those 5 meetings Venezia had been at home twice: one win (3-2) and one defeat (1-2). With this 2-1, their home record in the fixture rises to 2 wins out of 3. It's a small sample, but the result goes against the grain of the head-to-head history.

What it means for the survival race

One win doesn't erase a record of 2 wins in 11 games. Venezia still have a poor goal difference, with 8 goals scored and 21 conceded, and they come off a run in which they scored very little. But they now have something they didn't have before kickoff: a win over a direct rival. With 6 points to 5, they have overtaken Udinese in the table.

For Udinese, the picture is bleaker. Last place, 5 points, 25 goals conceded and 6 league games without a win. They lost the game in which they could have sent a message.

What to watch next

Two things. First: can Venezia keep scoring after their 2 goals against Udinese? In the previous 5 games they had managed 2 in total. Second: can Udinese stop the defensive bleeding? In their last 5 they had conceded 12, and against Venezia they let in 2 more in a game they could not afford to lose.