Udinese 0-3 Lecce: five straight league defeats despite 66.8% of the ball

Udinese had almost two-thirds of the ball and almost nothing to show for it. Kialonda Gaspar headed Lecce in front in the 11th minute from Antonino Gallo's cross, Konan N'Dri doubled it in the 33rd after a pass from Tiago Gabriel, and substitute Jamil Siebert put the result beyond doubt in the 86th, as Lecce won 0-3 at the Bluenergy Stadium.

A number that stands out

Udinese finished with 66.8% possession, against Lecce's 33.2%, and only two shots on target to show for it — Lecce had eleven. It is the kind of gap between the ball and the final product that explains Kosta Runjaić's side's position in the table better than the possession count does: plenty of the game played in front of Lecce's defence, not enough of it getting through it.

Udinese's losing run reaches five

This was Udinese's fifth straight Serie A defeat, a run that started with a 1-2 home loss to Lazio in early September and has continued through a 3-5 defeat at Inter, a 0-1 loss to Cagliari and a 1-2 defeat at Torino before this one. Their only win in that period remains a 3-2 away result at Monza back in August. Runjaić's side have conceded 16 goals in seven league games this season, the second-worst defensive record in the division — level with Venezia and behind only Fiorentina's 17.

Lecce stop the bleeding

Eusebio Di Francesco's Lecce arrived on the back of a 1-2 home defeat to Bologna, their second loss in three, and needed a response. They got one here: Gaspar's early header set the tone, N'Dri doubled the lead before the half-hour, and Siebert's goal off the bench put the game out of reach. It was only Lecce's third win of the season, but it came against a side they needed to put daylight between themselves and in the table.

Where it leaves the table

Lecce move up to 11th on 9 points from seven games, level on points with Atalanta but behind them on goal difference. Udinese drop to 17th on 4 points from seven games — one win, one draw, five defeats — level with Monza and Parma and only goal difference above Genoa and Fiorentina in the bottom four. Both Monza-Cagliari and Parma-Torino were still to be played from this round, and either result could move Udinese further down or pull them back level with the clubs just above them.

Scorers

• 11' — Kialonda Gaspar (Lecce, header), assisted by Antonino Gallo
• 33' — Konan N'Dri (Lecce), assisted by Tiago Gabriel
• 86' — Jamil Siebert (Lecce)

Match facts

Line-ups

What's next

Runjaić needs to find a way to turn Udinese's share of possession into actual chances before the losing run costs him his job. Lecce, with three wins now on the board, take some rare momentum into their next game.