Udinese 2-5 Roma: a four-goal first half and two Matías Soulé assists bury the hosts

Udinese's rescheduled matchday 10 fixture was finished as a contest before half-time. Roma scored four times in 27 first-half minutes at the Bluenergy Stadium, and Matías Soulé had a hand in two of them, setting up Donyell Malen and then Evan Ndicka inside the space of four minutes.

Bryan Cristante headed in the opener on 10 minutes from a Wesley cross, then turned provider himself for Rodrigo Mora's goal on 31. Malen made it three two minutes later from Soulé's pass, and Ndicka headed in Soulé's second assist of the afternoon on 37 to put Roma out of sight at 4-0.

Match facts

• 10' — Bryan Cristante (Roma), header, assisted by Wesley
• 31' — Rodrigo Mora (Roma), assisted by Bryan Cristante
• 33' — Donyell Malen (Roma), assisted by Matías Soulé
• 37' — Evan Ndicka (Roma), header, assisted by Matías Soulé
• 50' — Nicolò Zaniolo (Udinese)
• 78' — Matteo Palma (Udinese), assisted by Hassane Kamara
• 90'+2' — Daniele Ghilardi (Roma), assisted by Santiago Castro

Soulé's afternoon

Two assists in four minutes, both for headers or close finishes created from the same right-hand pocket, was the kind of afternoon that does not always show up in a scoreline led by other names. Malen and Ndicka finished the chances; Soulé is the one who kept finding the final pass.

Udinese's reply

Udinese did not fold completely. Nicolò Zaniolo, back from the injury that had kept him out of the Inter and Cagliari matches, pulled one back just after the restart, and Matteo Palma added a second with half an hour left, briefly making it a more respectable scoreline. Daniele Ghilardi's stoppage-time finish, Roma's fifth, put the gap back out to three.

A sixth straight defeat for Udinese

For the hosts, this is now five consecutive Serie A losses extended to six, without a win since the opening weeks of the season. Udinese have taken four points from their first nine league games, and conceded five or more in a match for the second time this season — a run that leaves Kosta Runjaic's side needing results fast once fresher fixtures arrive.

What's next

Roma's win takes a second victory from this round of fixtures, following the 4-2 defeat of Cagliari days earlier, and keeps them 3rd in Serie A on 24 points with a goal difference of +18. Udinese, on 4 points, sit second-bottom of the table — a figure still awaiting their own pending matchday 9 fixture before the picture is complete.