Udinese had a strange season. They were never involved in the struggle for survival and maintained the same coach, Gotti, from the beginning to the end, for the first time after 5 years characterized by several changes at the helm. But, nevertheless, they have reasons for being disappointed.
The feeling is that they could have gone for much more, at least a top 10 finish, given the quality the squad had, with players like De Paul, Musso, Pereyra, Nuytinck and Molina among the others.
Truthfully, luck was never on their side in the campaign as injuries and Covid outbreaks constantly depleted the squad. For instance, when the season started, Gotti hardly had any midfielders at his disposal and so Udinese logically lost 5 out of the initial 6 games. Against all expectations, the coach was confirmed and the players did not heart, managing to lose only 5 out of the following 21, thus setting their feet in the top 10.
During this period, they were just too hard to beat for any opponents. They would prove capable of stopping Inter and Atalanta, while defeating Lazio and giving hard times to Napoli, Milan and Juventus.
After week 28, though, things changed and they began an inexorable fall. In the remaining 11 games they won only twice, against Crotone and Benevento away, and drew once, at home to Bologna, while losing 8. Season-ending injuries had started piling up with Jajalo, Pussetto, Deulofeu and Nestorovski and many others no longer available. In the last weeks of the campaign, Gotti hardly had any alternatives to the starters.
The attack in particular was the department that suffered the most. Unsurprisingly, Udinese only scored 42 goals, 2 and 3 more than relegated Parma and Benevento respectively. However, the defence also had serious problems since Nuytinck was out injured half of the season. They only kept 8 clean sheets, while in the previous season they had recorded 14.
With 9 goals and 10 assists, De Paul single-handedly led Udinese to survival. His likely departure might seriously affect the team, if he is not properly replaced.
