Ghana's Nicholas Opoku excels again as Udinese rally to stun Empoli

Ghana centre-back Nicholas Opoku excelled in a three-back defense as Udinese twice fought back from a goal down to defeat Empoli 3-2 in the Italian Serie A on Sunday afternoon.

Following their impressive 1-1 draw against AC Milan at the San Siro in midweek, the Zebrette went into the clash against Empoli in a spirited mood.

But they were given a big blow after Francesco Caputo shot the visitors into the lead with 11 minutes on the clock.

Rodrigo De Paul wasted no time in pulling parity for Igor Tudor's men four minutes later but they soon found their backs on the floor again as Rade Krunic restored Empoli's advantage with a powerful strike in the 24th minute.

De Paul came to rescue of his side again as he struck a neat penalty beyond the reach of goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski in the 41st minute.

Rolando Mandragora, who rescued a point for Udinese in Milan in midweek, came to fore again as he picked up the ball from a rebound and from the edge of the box he unleashed a low shot into the bottom right corner to seal a 3-2 win.

Opoku was deployed in a three-man defense alongside William Troost-Ekong and Samir Santos.