| Ascoli staged a remarkable comeback from 2-0 down to earn a point against Udinese with substitute Andrea Soncin's brace. The Stadio Del Duca did not pass the strict new safety inspection, so the stands were empty as Udinese came to visit. Ascoli will need a miracle to avoid the drop after picking up just 15 points in 22 games, while the visitors have improved under new Coach Alberto Malesani, albeit losing 2-0 at Fiorentina last week.
Both sides had key figures missing, as Gigi Di Biagio, Antonio Di Natale and the suspended Matteo Melara were out. Ascoli had an excellent record in this Serie A fixture, winning seven, drawing once and suffering just one defeat in April 1985. Morgan De Sanctis was tested within the opening minutes by a Michele Fini header from a corner kick. Fontana limped off with an injury, making way for Boudianski. Vincenzo Iaquinta nodded a Marco Motta cross off target, but opened the scoring in fortunate circumstances soon after. He sprung the offside trap on Giampiero Pinzi's floated pass and the first shot was parried by Gianluca Pagliuca, but the lucky ricochet left Iaquinta alone in front of an empty net. There was nothing fortunate about Udinese's second goal. Iaquinta waited for the right moment to release Paulo Barreto and the Brazilian comfortably waltzed round Pagliuca to make it 2-0 going into the break. Ascoli should have come back into the game on the stroke of half-time, but the crossbar denied Soncin's right-foot effort. The home side gave themselves a chance on the 58th minute, as Soncin was allowed a free header at the back post on Simone Pesce's cross. Incredibly, Udinese managed to throw away a 2-0 lead in 10 minutes, as Boudianski's header came off the bar and Soncin was quickest to react. Ascoli could well have won it at the end, as Bjelanovic wasted a counter-attack and in stoppages Michele Paolucci was halted clear on goal for a debatable offside position. | 
