Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye impresses with 5 saves but Udinese fall to Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan

The result leaves the Nigerian shot-stopper searching for his first clean sheet since August.

Nigeria international Maduka Okoye put in a highly commendable individual effort between the sticks on Sunday night, but his heroics were ultimately not enough to prevent Udinese from slumping to a clinical 2-0 defeat against AC Milan at the Bluenergy Stadium.

Ruben Amorim’s high-flying Rossoneri wasted absolutely no time asserting their dominance in Udine. Just six minutes into the encounter, legendary midfielder Luka Modric caught the Udinese backline completely off-guard with a swiftly taken free-kick over the top.

Safely kept onside by Mergim Vojvoda, American winger Christian Pulisic hooked the ball down before calmly slotting it past a helpless Okoye to establish an early 1-0 advantage.

Despite the early setback, Okoye showed great resilience to prevent the scoreline from expanding before the interval. The 27-year-old Super Eagles goalkeeper executed a string of fine reflex stops, racking up five saves over the 90 minutes to keep Kosta Runjaić’s side within touching distance.

Okoye did brilliantly to parry the initial effort away, but the rebound fell directly into the path of Omari Hutchinson, who made no mistake from close range to smash home his first ever goal for the club.

Bouncing back 💁‍♂️ https://t.co/XSOWKAenLS

The defeat further extends a worrying defensive drought for Okoye, who has been unable to secure a clean sheet for the Serie A outfit since late August.

While Udinese thrown on the likes of Lennon Miller and Nicolò Zaniolo in a late bid to spark a fightback, Amorim’s structurally compact defensive lines comfortably saw out the final whistles to lift AC Milan into 4th place in the Serie A standings.