Maduka Okoye: Super Eagles GK reveals 3 reasons why Udinese lost to Inter Milan

Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye was in goal as Udinese surrendered a two-goal lead before losing 5-3 to Inter Milan at San Siro last night, Soccernet.ng reports.

Udinese stunned the Serie A champions with two goals inside the opening 16 minutes, with James Abankwah opening the scoring in the ninth minute before Jurgen Ekkelenkamp doubled the advantage seven minutes later.

However, Inter responded strongly and scored five times through Carlos Augusto, Nicolo Barella, Marcus Thuram, Francesco Pio Esposito and Ange-Yoan Bonny to complete another remarkable comeback.

Marcus Thuram celebrates after scoring in Inter's win over Udinese. Copyright: ImagoxAndreaxRosito/IPAxSportx

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Okoye started in goal for Udinese and produced several important interventions during the game, including a double save to deny Thuram early on and another notable stop to keep out Henrikh Mkhitaryan after the restart.

The Nigeria international was ultimately unable to prevent Inter from turning the game around, with Idrissa Gueye's late goal only serving as consolation for Udinese.

Maduka Okoye reveals why Udinese lost to Inter

Speaking after the defeat, Okoye pointed to Inter's attacking quality and their refusal to stop attacking as two of the major problems Udinese faced at San Siro.

“It’s always difficult against Inter at San Siro. They play very attacking football and don’t stop even after scoring three or four goals,” Okoye said in quotes revealed by Udinese's official website.

“We also had our chances, but they are too strong.”

Maduka Okoye fails to save Carlos Augusto's attempt. Copyright: Imago

Okoye's comments highlight the first major reason for Udinese's defeat: Inter's relentless attacking approach.

Despite falling two goals behind, Cristian Chivu's side continued to push forward, eventually scoring five times and producing 27 shots, with 12 on target.

The second reason was Udinese's inability to make their own opportunities count. The visitors had made a dream start and created opportunities of their own, but they could not maintain the same attacking threat once Inter began to dominate possession and territory.

Udinese also struggled under Inter's pressure

The third reason was the pressure created by Inter after their slow start, with Udinese struggling to maintain their defensive organisation once the hosts found their rhythm.

Udinese coach Kosta Runjaic. Copyright: xAndreaxRosito/IPAxSportx/Imago

Udinese coach Kosta Runjaic was more direct when assessing the collapse, admitting that his team conceded easy goals and lost duels they should have won.

“We started well, then we conceded easy goals, losing duels that we shouldn't have lost,” Runjaic said after the match.

“They exploited every mistake. This means they are at a high level; they are the best team in Serie A, and they have strengthened even more this year.”

“We suffered from their pressure,” he added.

Inter's comeback was therefore not simply a case of Udinese losing their early advantage. The home side increased the intensity after falling 2-0 behind and eventually overwhelmed the visitors.

Poland Vs Nigeria, Maduka Okoye. Copyright: ImagoxMikolajxBarbanellx

Okoye had warned before kick-off that Udinese faced a huge challenge against Inter, particularly with defensive absences.

“It's always difficult against Inter at San Siro. We have some defensive absences, but Kabasele is back in the starting lineup; we're ready,” he said before the game.

The Super Eagles goalkeeper had also admitted that there was no straightforward way to stop Inter because of their individual quality.

“There's no easy way to stop Inter; they have so much quality, but we've prepared. It's always special to play at San Siro; we're here to get a result.”

Despite the disappointing result, the former Watford goalkeeper remains positive about his development at Udinese and credited Runjaic, the coaching staff and the club's other goalkeepers for helping him improve.

“Since I've been at Udine, I've gained experience; Coach Runjaic, the staff, and the other goalkeepers have helped me. I'm happy to have made progress, but I still want to improve.”

Maduka Okoye of Udinese Calcio seen in action. Copyright: ImagoxBEAUTIFULxSPORTS/Carabellix

Udinese will now turn their attention to their next Serie A fixture against Cagliari on Saturday as they look to recover from the damaging collapse at San Siro.