Udinese-Roma Match Abandoned After Evan Ndicka Medical Incident

Please Note: Today's match was abandoned after Evan Ndicka collapsed on the pitch in the 72nd minute. Ndicka, conscious throughout, was stretchered off the pitch to receive medical attention, prompting the match officials to suspend play. We won't speculate on his condition but will provide updates as they become available.

After a challenging week in which his side stitched together a pair of nerve-wracking 1-0 wins over Lazio and AC Milan—and with another hectic week on the horizon featuring the Europa League return leg against Milan and a six-pointer against Bologna—Daniele De Rossi had no choice but to tinker with his lineup today against Udinese.

Rather than relying on his tried-and-true four-man backline, De Rossi pivoted back to a 3-5-2, with his defense anchored by Evan Ndicka, Dean Huijsen, and Diego Llorente, while Tommaso Baldanzi and Romelu Lukaku led the attack. All told, De Rossi made seven changes from the side that dispatched Milan on Thursday.

The initial results weren't kind to De Rossi's tinkering. Roma, though they dominated possession, were careless threading the ball through the midfield, coughing up the ball multiple times in the first 10 minutes. Despite holding 72% possession, Roma couldn't muster an attempt on goal, though Udinese nearly broke the seal twice. Lorenzo Lucca asserted himself early on, flicking a header wide of Mile Svilar's goal moments after he nearly goaded Diego Llorente into a penalty but reaching back and tugging at his shirt before he dove into the box.

Udinese continued to make the most of their meager possession, winning a corner in the 15th minute, one that Jaka Bijol nearly converted with a flicked header towards the left post. Fortunately for Roma, the Slovenian defender's attempt sailed wide of the mark. Roma countered two minutes later when Houssem Aouar fired a daisy cutter outside the right post.

Just when it seemed like Roma was poised to draw first blood, winning three setpieces in short order and producing a genuine chance via a Baldanzi volley, the Giallorossi's youngest player committed a grave sin. With Dean Huijsen playing a bit of one-man head tennis, the now 19-year-old (today is his birthday) defender stood flat-footed as Roberto Pereyra stole the ball and raced headlong toward the Roma goal. And while Svilar did well to come off his line and disrupt Pereyra's run, he got just enough on the ball to watch it trickle over the end line, putting the homeside up one nil.

Roma struggled to get off the canvas after this gut punch, creating little more than half chances at the edge of the Udinese area. And when Roma did pose a threat in the box, they came up empty-handed, punctuated by another Romelu Lukaku misfire, with the Belgian striker misfiring on a headed ball near the right post.

Second Half

Roma began the second 45 with a similarly possession-dominant approach, with Leandro Paredes dictating play from his withdrawn midfield position. However, much like the first half, this approach was too passive and narrowly confined to stretch the Udinese backline. Roma's early second-half efforts came from outside the 18-yard box, though Paredes forced Maduka Okoye into a stretched save with a looping 20-yard effort.

Sensing his club's first-half struggles carrying over, De Rossi made a double change in the 53rd minute, bringing Paulo Dybala and Rick Karsdorp into the match in place of Aouar and Huijsen, respectively.

As the match passed the sixty-minute mark, Roma finally found paydirt in the 64th minute. Cristante sent a ball from the right wing into the box, hanging it perfectly in the air for Lukaku to head it past Okoye, equalizing the match at one goal each.

With roughly 20 minutes remaining, Roma rushed forward in waves, hitting Okoye with a flurry of shots in the 65th minute after Dybala's herculean effort to retain possession in the box amidst a sea of Udinese defenders. The ball eventually found its way to Lukaku at the far left post, only to be denied by a last-ditch defensive effort from Udinese.

The match then hit an unfortunate pause after Evan Ndicka was stretchered off the pitch after collapsing with reported chest pain. The Ivorian defender gave a semi-thumbs-up to his teammates as he was carried into the tunnels, but play remained paused for well over 10 minutes before the officials suspended the match.

This is uncharted territory, so we'll end the recap without further speculation. We'll pass along updates on Ndicka's condition as soon as possible.