Udinese 3 – 0 Bologna: Maduka Okoye makes first league start and appearance in 19 months

Nigeria goalkeeper Maduka Okoye made his first start and first appearance in goal for Udinese Saturday at the Bluenergy
Stadium – Stadio Friuli where they hosted Bologna in a Serie A matchweek 18 tie.

Okoye has been an unused substitute 16 times in the 17 games Udinese have played prior to Saturday’s game, missing only
the club’s opening game of the season, the 3-0 loss to visiting Juventus.

On Saturday, Okoye replaced the club’s number one goalie, Marco Silvestri who watched from the bench for the entire 90
minutes as the Nigerian helped Udinese to a comprehensive 3-0 defeat of Bologna.

The match was Okoye’s first league appearance since May 2022 when he was in goal for Sparta Rotterdam’s last game of the
season in the Dutch Eredivise, a 3-1 defeat of Heracles Almelo at the Erve Asito before joining Watford in England.

That marked the last time the 24 year old would make an appearance between the post in a league match before Saturday’s
game at the Bluenergy Stadium – Stadio Friuli.

It was also the last time he would start in a league game.

Okoye also kept a clean sheet in his first Serie A game and start. The last time he did was in May 2022 at the Sparta-
stadion – Het Kasteel where his club, Sparta Rotterdam hosted and defeated PEC Zwolle 2-0 in the penultimate game in the
Dutch Eredivise for the 2021/22 season.