Catania have got the better of Udinese 1-0 at home in Serie A.

The hosts made a bright start to the encounter as Lucas Castro forced Zeljko Brkic into making a good save after 12 minutes.

However, the visitors from Udine soon began to find their feet as Luis Muriel and Roberto Pereyra had chances.

Pereyra was unlucky not to break the deadlock in the 24th minute when he beat three defenders but saw his shot come back off the post.

That came back to haunt Udinese on the half-hour mark when Catania were awarded a penalty. Maurizio Domizzi pulled Nicola Legrottaglie's shirt inside the area and Maxi Lopez made no mistake from the spot.

Catania thought that they had doubled their advantage in the 42nd minute when Keko had the ball in the net, but the referee ruled it out for a foul on Udinese's Gabriel Silva.

Udinese stepped up their game in the second half but were denied again by the frame of the home team's goal on 67 minutes, this time Giampiero Pinzi watching his shot from 25 yards hit the post.

Catania held on for the remainder of the match to bag maximum points from the encounter.