Runjaic Faces Double Injury Blow as Lazio Overturn Udinese Lead

Udinese walked off the Stadio Friuli pitch with empty hands and a long list of regrets. Kosta Runjaic’s side had led, had Lazio under pressure, and had the crowd behind them. Then came the injuries. Then came the turnaround.

Jesper Karlstrom’s strike early in the second half should have been the platform for a statement win. Instead, it became the prelude to a collapse that Runjaic believes began long before the scoreboard flipped to 2-1.

Two injuries. Two slots gone. One game slipping away.

Injuries reshape the match

Udinese lost Jakub Piotrowski and Oumar Solet before half-time, a double setback that ripped up Runjaic’s game plan and boxed him in on the bench.

“We lost Piotrowski and Solet and we paid a heavy price for those two changes, as we lost two substitution slots, so I had doubts,” the coach told DAZN, via TuttoMercatoWeb.

Forced into early changes, Udinese’s ability to react later in the game shrank. Lazio, under Gennaro Gattuso, grew into the contest, their quality and depth starting to show as the minutes ticked by.

Runjaic didn’t hide from that reality.

“Lazio played well, they are a strong team and they have bought strong players. They started as favourites. We could have taken a point, but they certainly deserved to score at least one goal.”

They got two.

Lazio turn the screw

Karlstrom’s opener had lit up the Friuli and momentarily shifted the balance. Udinese had something to protect. Lazio had to chase.

The response was ruthless.

Davide Frattesi dragged the visitors level, seizing control of midfield exchanges and capping it with the equaliser. Albert Gudmundsson then completed the comeback, his goal turning a fragile Udinese lead into a painful home defeat.

From that moment, the pattern hardened. Lazio looked like a side built to manage this kind of game. Udinese looked like one patched together on the fly.

Davis withdrawn as Udinese fade

The physical toll told on the hosts as well. With both teams tiring, Udinese’s inability to keep the ball turned the final stages into a resistance exercise they couldn’t sustain.

“Both teams were tired, but we have to respect their qualities and we weren’t able to have the possession we wanted,” Runjaic said.

In that context, his decision to withdraw Keinan Davis in the second half became a calculated risk he refused to take.

“I didn’t want to risk Davis and the changes in the first half affected us.”

Without Davis, Udinese lacked a focal point. Without fresh options, they lacked a Plan B.

Depth issues laid bare

Runjaic did not gloss over the squad’s limitations. He admitted Udinese do not have a natural alternative to Davis, a gap that becomes glaring when the striker is managed cautiously or unavailable.

Behind him, another work in progress: James Abankwah, a summer signing still adjusting to the demands of Serie A.

“Abankwah still has to adapt to the pace of Serie A and, in terms of the changes, Lazio were superior,” Runjaic conceded.

On a night when injuries, fatigue and thin depth collided, Lazio’s bench and experience made the difference. Udinese had the lead, the noise and the opening. Gattuso’s side had the answers when it mattered.

For Runjaic, the question now is clear: can Udinese build the depth and resilience to stop nights like this from becoming a theme of their season?