Okoye saves penalty as Udinese draw 0-0 at Parma to end losing run
Nigeria goalkeeper Maduka Okoye saved Adrián Bernabé's second-half penalty as Udinese drew 0-0 at Parma, ending a six-match Serie A losing run and earning Player of the Match.
By Emily · 29 Oct 2026, 09:25 WAT
Parma and Udinese finished 0-0 at the Stadio Ennio Tardini on Tuesday 28 October in Serie A, a direct meeting of two sides stuck near the bottom of the table. Kick-off was Tuesday evening in Italy — late evening in West Africa Time — according to the club match report and ESPN's final score.
Udinese coach Kosta Runjaic's side created the clearer chances across the night. Nicolò Zaniolo, back in the starting XI, curled just over early; Keinan Davis and Hassane Kamara both missed openings; and late substitutes Jurgen Ekkelenkamp and U. Gómez were denied by Troilo and goalkeeper Daffara from close range, the Udinese report said. Parma's clearest route to three points came from the spot.
In the 69th minute referee Massa pointed to the penalty spot after a handball by Udinese defender Jordan Abankwah. Adrián Bernabé took it; Maduka Okoye dived the right way and saved. The Nigerian was named Player of the Match. "The save on the penalty was pure instinct," Okoye told DAZN microphones after the game, in quotes published by Udinese. "We always want to win and we need points. Today we took one and that's fine — now straight on to the next one." Zaniolo added that it was "not the first time Maduka has saved us" and that the away point stopped the losing run.
The result mattered in the table. Udinese had lost their previous six Serie A matches; the draw lifted them to five points, level with Parma, both still in the bottom three on ESPN's Serie A standings (Udinese 18th, Parma 19th after the round). Okoye finished with two saves on the night per ESPN's match leaders; Parma managed only four shots in total.
For Nigerian readers the angle is bigger than one Serie A point. Okoye remains a leading Super Eagles goalkeeper option alongside Chippa United's Stanley Nwabali under head coach Éric Chelle. A clean sheet and a televised penalty save on the night Udinese finally stopped losing is club form Chelle's staff will weigh when the next camp list is drawn. TuSport is not naming a starter; the desk note is that Okoye's night now sits on the same tape as Nwabali's domestic form when Nigeria next meet.
Udinese next face Roma; Parma stay in the relegation scrap. The Tardini scoreline will read 0-0 in every wire. The TuSport takeaway for the Nigerian audience is Okoye's Player-of-the-Match penalty save ending a six-game slide — and what that means for the gloves conversation at home.
Sources: www.udinese.it · www.udinese.it · www.espn.com
