Serie A | Udinese 2-5 Roma: Job done in first 37 minutes

Roma swept sorry Udinese away with four goals in the first half including Rodrigo Mora and Donyell Malen, as coach Kosta Runjaic is now hanging by a thread.

There was relatively little squad rotation ahead of a Champions League clash with Manchester United and after the 4-2 win over Cagliari, as Paulo Dybala, Mile Svilar, Manu Koné and Lorenzo Pellegrini were still out, resting Gianluca Mancini and bringing Rodrigo Mora into the starting XI.

The Friulani ended their run of six straight defeats with a 0-0 draw at Parma midweek, but missed Oumar Solet, David Alaba, Alessandro Zanoli, Idrissa Gueye and Vakoun Bayo.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

UDINE, ITALY – OCTOBER 25: Kosta Runjaic, Udinese manager, looks on during the Serie A match between Udinese Calcio and AC Milan at Stadio Friuli on October 25, 2026 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)

It took under 10 minutes to break the deadlock, as Wesley’s cross from the left found Bryan Cristante to surprise Matteo Palma with a header from 10 yards into the near bottom corner.

Christian Kabasele did just enough to stop Donyell Malen making the most of a smart Matias Soulé ball over the top, then Soulé sprung the offside trap on a similar move only to thump the upright.

Moments later, Roma rattled the frame of the goal again, this time with Malen hitting the crossbar after he had forced a tricky save from Maduka Okoye.

ROME, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 05: Donyell Malen of Roma gestures during the Serie A match between AS Roma and Atalanta BC at Stadio Olimpico on September 05, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

It was a siege and Udinese capitulated when Cristante got down the right of the penalty area and rolled across for Rodrigo Mora to tap in at the back stick.

Roma ran riot, Soulé with a splendid take on the long Mario Hermoso ball, setting up Malen to cut inside Kabasele and surprise Okoye at the base of the near post.

Cristante forced a tricky save out of Okoye moments later, but he was beaten again by the Evan Ndicka free header on a Soulé corner. It gave the defender some happier memories of this stadium, where he suffered a collapsed lung in April 2024.

DORTMUND, GERMANY – AUGUST 15: Evan Ndicka of AS Rom reacts during the pre-season friendly match between Borussia Dortmund and AS Roma at Signal Iduna Park on August 15, 2026 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)

Udinese tried to at least fight back, but Pierluigi Gollini was quick off his line to parry the Palma header on a Nicolò Zaniolo free kick.

They scored after the restart, with Gollini only spilling the deflected Lennon Miller snapshot into the path of Zaniolo to get them on the scoresheet. He did not celebrate against his former fans, who had been jeering his every touch all game.

UDINE, ITALY – AUGUST 22: Nicolò Zaniolo of Udinese in action during the Serie A match between Udinese Calcio and Como 1907 at Stadio Friuli on August 22, 2026 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)

Nahuel Molina went for the assist just beyond Malen sliding in from six yards rather than going for goal himself against his old club, then Malen tested Okoye from distance.

It wasn’t over, because an Udinese corner was not cleared properly, it was put back over the top by Houssine Kamara and Wesley kept Palma onside for the well-taken volley from 12 yards.

Unai Gomez very nearly made it 4-3, his daisy-cutter skimming the upright, but instead Daniele Ghilardi chested down the dinked Santiago Castro assist, let it bounce and smashed a right-footed half-volley into the roof of the net for 5-2.

Udinese 2-5 Roma

Cristante 10 (R), Rodrigo Mora 31 (R), Malen 33 (R), Ndicka 37 (R), Zaniolo 50 (U), Palma 78 (U), Ghilardi 92 (R)