The early stages mirrored the expected pattern of a mid-table battle with little creative spark at either end of the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.
The clearest chance of the first half fell to Bologna midfielder Tommaso Pobega with his 25-yard drive sharply batted away by Maduka Okoye on 35 minutes.
That boosted the home side before the interval, and Santiago Castro almost instantly steered home a spectacular volley from just inside the Udinese box, but the Argentinian flashed his effort over the bar.
Overall, it was a promising end to the first half for Bologna, as they looked to arrest a four-game run of losses in matches played immediately after European duty.
Bologna continued to carry the greater threat after the restart as they wasted an incredible chance to break through on 54 minutes.
Riccardo Orsolini pounced on a defensive slip, but Okoye flew off his line to make a brave block, and Jonathan Rowe’s scuffed chip from the rebound was scooped off the line by the covering Jordan Zemura.
However, the game was decided by a moment of officiating farce, as Matteo Marcenaro eventually awarded a penalty after a VAR review adjudged Jesper Karlstrom to have fouled Castro right on the edge of the penalty area.
As chaos reigned over the call from Marcenaro, Bernardeschi kept his cool from 12 yards to score for the second Serie A game running against Udinese.
The away side did rally in the closing stages, as Nicolo Zaniolo steered a measured strike off target and Jakub Piotrowski’s free-kick by Lukasz Skorupski, as Italiano’s charges now turn their focus back to continental action and a Europa League (UEL) Last 16 playoff second-leg against Brann on Thursday night.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kingsley Ehizibue (Udinese)