Udinese's Stefano Okaka, third right, competes for the ball with Sassuolo's Kaan Ayhan, second right, during the Serie A soccer match between Sassuolo and Udinese at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia, Italy, Nov 6, 2020. (MASSIMO PAOLONE / LAPRESSE VIA AP)

Surprise package Sassuolo missed the chance to go top of Serie A as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Udinese on Friday.

Udinese showed great discipline in defence to contain a Sassuolo side that had scored 18 goals in six league games

They dominated possession but could not turn that into chances on a frustrating night, managing one attempt on target.

The draw left Roberto De Zerbi’s unbeaten side in second place on 15 points from seven games, a point behind leaders AC Milan, who host Hellas Verona on Sunday.

Udinese showed great discipline in defence to contain a Sassuolo side that had scored 18 goals in six league games but they remain second from bottom with four points.

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De Zerbi said that despite the missed opportunity he was content enough with a point in the end.

“In football it takes two to play so I am satisfied with the maturity shown by the team in managing the match,” he said.

“We will find many matches like these in our path, we need to improve in the last 20 metres. We have lost games like this to Udinese, so I said to accept the possibility that it would end 0-0 so as not to lose it. I can’t blame the boys.”