Runjaic laments Okoye blunder in Udinese loss

Udinese manager Kosta Runjaic has lamented the costly miscommunication between goalkeeper Maduka Okoye and central defender Nicolò Bertola that handed Torino a 2-1 victory in their Serie A clash on Monday night.

Speaking after the match at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, the German tactician admitted that the defensive mix-up in the 67th minute, which allowed substitute Sandro Kulenović to tap into an empty net, robbed his side of a deserved point.

“Without that error between Bertola and Okoye, the match would probably have ended in a draw,” Runjaic told DAZN. “We lost because of a big mistake… It was a lack of communication and perception, and with mistakes like these you end up losing games.”

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The defeat marked Udinese’s fourth consecutive loss in the league, leaving them struggling near the drop zone with just four points from six matches. While acknowledging that his side did not play poorly overall—highlighted by Jurgen Ekkelenkamp’s first-half equaliser—Runjaic stressed that individual errors continue to derail their campaign.

The coach called for immediate improvement from his squad as they look to regroup and arrest their slump.

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