Kulenović Winner Spoils David Alaba's Udinese Debut as Torino Win 2-1

Torino beat Udinese 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino on Monday, October 12, in the final game of Serie A's sixth round. Substitute Sandro Kulenović scored the winner, and the evening was a losing one for David Alaba, who made his debut for Udinese from the bench.

Both teams started the night on four points. Udinese had the better of the early play and Oumar Solet headed narrowly wide from a corner, but Torino struck first in the 36th minute. Che Adams hit the post with an acrobatic first-time effort, and Daniel Bragança reacted quickest to the rebound to score his first Serie A goal.

Udinese levelled before the break. Jurgen Ekkelenkamp scored in the 43rd minute after a move that started with Solet and went through Enzo Ebosse. The match then settled into a quiet spell, with Udinese seeing a lot of the ball but not doing much with it.

The decisive moment came in the 67th minute. Kulenović, who had been on the pitch for only a few minutes after replacing Che Adams, was perfectly placed when Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye rushed out for a cross from Nikola Vlasic and collided with his team-mate Bertola. The ball ran loose behind both of them and the Croatian striker tapped it into an empty net to make it 2-1.

Udinese coach Kosta Runjaić then threw on more attackers, including Alaba, who played his first minutes in Italian football around the 72nd minute. The former Bayern Munich and Real Madrid defender had been without competitive football for around three months. Despite 62% of possession and 15 shots to Torino's 12, Udinese managed only one shot on target and could not find an equaliser.

The result gives Torino their first home league win under coach Abate. It lifts them to 12th in the table with seven points from six games, a record of two wins, one draw and three defeats. Udinese suffered their fourth straight defeat and remain on four points. Torino travel to Parma next.