Atalanta fell to their first Serie A defeat of the campaign, slipping into the bottom half of the table after a 1–0 loss to Udinese at the Stadio Friuli. The hosts, meanwhile, climbed above Ivan Jurić’s side and celebrated their first home clean sheet of the season.

With just 13 points from their opening nine matches, this marks Atalanta’s slowest start to a league season since 2018/19. Facing one of Serie A’s joint-leakiest defenses, Jurić’s men had hoped to finally build momentum — but they struggled to make their superiority count.

The match began evenly, with both sides battling to gain control in midfield. Udinese’s Nicolò Zaniolo tested Marco Carnesecchi with a speculative effort early on, before Arthur Atta fired wide from the edge of the area.

Atalanta thought they had taken the lead in the 24th minute when Kamaldeen Sulemana guided home a fine volley from Davide Zappacosta’s cross, but the goal was ruled out for offside in the build-up.

That near miss appeared to galvanize Udinese, who grew in confidence despite limited possession. Their pressure was rewarded five minutes before halftime when Hassane Kamara found Zaniolo unmarked at the penalty spot, and the Italian made no mistake, firing in his third goal in four games.

Carnesecchi prevented further damage just before the break with a fingertip save from Jesper Karlström’s long-range strike, offering Atalanta a glimmer of hope heading into the second half.

After the restart, Atalanta pressed higher up the pitch but continued to struggle in the final third. Substitutes, including Ademola Lookman, failed to provide the spark Jurić needed. The visitors’ best chance came late on, when Raoul Bellanova’s volley from a corner was well saved by Maduka Okoye, ensuring Udinese held firm for a deserved win.

The defeat ends Atalanta’s run of five consecutive draws and marks their first loss in 16 meetings with Udinese (W9, D6). As a result, La Dea drop to 11th place, while Le Zebrette move up to eighth, having now lost just once in their last four league outings.