Kike Pérez's strike gives Venezia a 2-1 win over Udinese and Zanetti a losing debut

Venezia beat Udinese 2-1 at the Penzo on Friday night to open Serie A's eleventh round, ending a run of three straight defeats and sending Udinese to the bottom of the table in Paolo Zanetti's first game as their coach. Midfielder Toma Bašić put the hosts ahead on 53 minutes, Venezia defender Matias Moreno's own goal levelled it four minutes later and his team-mate Kike Pérez won it on 65 with a left-footed strike from distance.

The match paired two coaches with a past at the other club: Zanetti, who replaced Kosta Runjaic this week, once coached Venezia, while Venezia's Davide Nicola was once Udinese's coach. On the eve of the game Nicola had said that against Udinese "courage and balance" were needed. The hosts made the early running, and wing-back Antoine Hainaut was denied by Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye on six minutes, before the visitors grew into the half. Just after the half-hour Udinese's Jürgen Ekkelenkamp forced a diving save from Venezia goalkeeper Filip Stanković. It stayed 0-0 at the break.

How the goals came

Bašić struck first, finishing a low cutback from Hainaut, who had reached the byline on the right. Udinese needed four minutes to reply: Nicolò Zaniolo's cross from the right reached the far post, where striker Keinan Davis got a touch, and Moreno turned the ball into his own net. The goal stood after a long VAR check on Zaniolo's position when he received the ball.

Pérez settled it on 65 minutes. Wing-back Pasquale Mazzocchi found him and Pérez drove a left-footed shot from around 20 metres that Okoye could not reach. Mazzocchi went off injured five minutes later and Nicola replaced him with Ridgeciano Haps.

Late on, Venezia thought they had a third when striker Akor Adams scored from a deflected Hainaut shot, but referee Juan Luca Sacchi ruled it out for handball. Udinese's closing pressure created little.

What it changes

The shot count was close, 15 to 13 to Venezia, with Udinese putting five on target to the hosts' four, but the table moves: Venezia go from 3 points to 6 and off the bottom, while Udinese stay on 5 in 20th. With Friday's result added, Monza are 18th on 7 points and Parma, Fiorentina and Sassuolo are on 8, so the bottom six are separated by three points.

Udinese have now gone nine league games without a win, eight defeats and one draw, since a 3-2 win at Monza on 29 August. For Venezia it is only a second league win of the season and Nicola's second since he took charge: the first was a 1-0 against Napoli on 17 October, followed by defeats at Genoa, against Inter and at Como.

Zanetti had been blunt when he was presented on Wednesday. "If the league ended now, Udinese would be in Serie B, that is a fact," he said, calling his team's place second from bottom deserved. Since Friday Udinese are last, three points behind 17th-placed Sassuolo, who visit Roma on Saturday evening. Parma host Bologna on Saturday, and on Sunday Monza host Atalanta and Fiorentina host Juventus.