Serie A | Fiorentina 5-1 Udinese: Okoye gifts Viola an early present

Fiorentina picked up their first Serie A win of the season at the 16th time of asking thanks to an early Maduka Okoye red card in an eventual 5-1 victory over Udinese on Sunday evening: Rolando Mandragora, Albert Gudmundsson, Cher Ndour, Moise Kean and Oumar Solet with the goals.

Fiorentina had not won any of their first 15 Serie A matches of the season, and had lost all of their last three league fixtures before kick-off. They made just one change after a massively disappointing 2-1 defeat against Hellas Verona last weekend, with Ndour coming in to replace Simon Sohm in the middle of the park. Udinese, who picked up an impressive 1-0 win over reigning champions Napoli last time out, unsurprisingly named an unchanged XI. 

You can see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Okoye cost his team the points after just seven minutes when he came rushing out of his area in an attempt to stop Moise Kean one-on-one. The stopper smashed into the Italy international just outside the area and was shown an immediate red card for his challenge.

Mandragora brushed the top of the crossbar with the resulting free-kick. Gudmundsson then went on to rattle the right post with an encouraging effort from 25 yards out a few moments later.

Fiorentina found the breakthrough in the 21st minute when Nicolo Fagioli tapped a free-kick to Mandragora inside the D. The 28-year-old shot low, and managed to squeeze his effort underneath replacement goalkeeper Razvan Sava, who will have been disappointed to see that one sneak in. 

Gudmundsson doubled the Viola advantage a few minutes before the interval. He twisted and turned on the edge of the box, before cutting a right-footed effort across goal and into the top corner of the net for 2-0. 

That would have been a decent end to a promising half for Fiorentina, but the unmarked Ndour went one further by nodding in Fagioli’s delicately placed cross for 3-0 five minutes into first-half stoppage time. 

Though Udinese came out firing at the beginning of the first-half, substitute Hassane Kamara coming the closest two minutes after the re-start, it was Fiorentina celebrating again as Kean got in on the act in the 56th minute. 

It was the simplest of tap-ins for the Italy international, who had the whole of the goal to aim at from five yards out after Fabiano Parisi’s shot bounced off the post and into his feet.

Solet pulled one back for the visitors midway through the second half. It was one of the finest consolation goals you’ll see: A beautifully bent effort into the top corner from the centre-back. 

Solet, however, went from hero to zero less than two minutes later as he misread a long ball over the top and allowed Kean through one-on-one. The Italy international made no mistake as he doubled his tally for the afternoon, and for the season. 

In the short-term, Sunday’s result has not quite lifted Fiorentina off bottom spot in the Serie A table. They are still two points behind Pisa in 19th, three behind Verona in 18th and five behind Parma and that all-important 17th position.

This does come as a much-needed confidence boost for Vanoli and his players, who had gone 15 matches without a win at the start of the 2025-26 campaign. Almost 30% of the Serie A goals they have scored this season went in on Sunday.

For Udinese, this was an evening to forget. It was always going to be an uphill battle after Okoy’s early red, and now, it is all focus on Lazio on December 27.

Mandragora (F) 21′, Gudmundsson (F) 42′, Ndour (F) 45+5′, Kean (F) 56′, 68, Solet (U) 66′.