Considering both sides had been in strong form of late, it was a surprisingly drab start, and Lazio did very little to show why they were the favourites ahead of kick-off. Udinese subsequently fired a couple shots, before catching their opponents on the counter for the opener.
Florian Thauvin powered forward and had his shot saved by Ivan Provedel, only for Lorenzo Lucca to acrobatically deflect the rebound back into the six-yard box, where Thauvin reacted quickest to smash into the net.
But the hosts responded impeccably, and a fantastic save by Maduka Okoye to deny Mattia Zaccagni was only brief respite as they restored parity just after the half-hour mark. Gustav Isaksen’s corner was flicked on perfectly by Matias Vecino, and Alessio Romagnoli arrived to scramble in at the far post - adding to his midweek Europa League strike with a first top-flight goal in two years.
Udinese consequently missed their chance at a fourth consecutive clean sheet for the first time since 2012, and they looked vulnerable to letting in another following the restart.
Hassane Kamara slid in brilliantly to take it away from Zaccagni at the last moment before Okoye was tested by a rasping shot from substitute Tijjani Noslin.
A renewal of their midfield personnel helped Udinese to stem that flow and gain back a degree of control, before mounting a final push during an intriguing final 10 minutes.
Ultimately, however, neither side could find a winner, with Lazio unable to replicate their consecutive 98th minute winners in each of their last two outings.
Udinese remain among the best in Serie A in terms of the form table, having already bettered last season’s points total and only seven away from their best tally since 2013.
For Lazio, they return to this arena again in just three days time to attempt to hold onto their first-leg lead over Viktoria Plzen, who they remarkably defeated 2-1 on Thursday despite being reduced to nine men.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alessio Romagnoli (Lazio)