David Alaba made his first appearance for Udinese in the 72nd minute of Torino vs Udinese, but the game was already drifting away from the visitors. Torino won 2-1 in Serie A Round 6, with Daniel Bragança and Sandro Kulenović deciding the contest before the substitute could have much influence. Udinese had already suffered their fourth loss of the season.

Alaba's first night and the numbers behind it

Alaba’s cameo lasted 18 minutes, and he still completed 21 passes in that time. The rating attached to the debut was 6.5, which is fine for a first outing, but the bigger point is that this was a brief, late introduction rather than any kind of turning point.

That fits the tone of the move itself. Alaba had said to SPORT1, in comments translated from German: "I want to keep going full throttle, play every week in Serie A at the highest level and achieve something." He also spoke about bringing "my experience into the dressing room, take on responsibility and help whenever possible, especially the younger players." There was none of that influence on show here, simply because the match was already decided by the time he arrived.

Torino settled it before Alaba arrived

Torino’s first goal came in the 36th minute when Bragança scored after the ball came back off the post. The winner followed in the 67th minute, three minutes after Kulenović came on for Che Adams, and that timing tells you enough about how the game tilted.

Jürgen Ekkelenkamp was also part of Udinese’s fightback attempts, but the visitors never found enough to turn the scoreline. Torino had started the day on four points from five league matches, the same tally as Udinese, and this result moved the home side clear of a match that had been tight on paper but not for long on the pitch.

Alaba will take far more from the next few appearances than he could from this one. His Udinese start began with a substitute’s shift, a 2-1 defeat, and 21 completed passes, and the first real chance to shape results comes in the matches that follow.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →