Three goals from a centre-back across 25 Serie A appearances is not a footnote — it is a pattern. Thomas Thiesson Kristensen, the 24-year-old Udinese defender, added to that tally in matchday 35 as Kosta Runjaić's side beat Torino 2-0 at the Bluenergy Stadium, a result that keeps the Friulani pushing for a top-half finish with three rounds remaining.
The goal itself was already covered. What deserves attention now is what the full season picture says about Kristensen's development. An average match rating of 6.90 across those 25 appearances suggests consistent rather than spectacular — a defender doing his job without drama, which in a backline that has conceded 46 goals this season is no small thing. His AI overall score of 73 out of 100, with a projected ceiling of 76, marks him as a player still ascending rather than one who has plateaued.
Three goals from defence in a single Serie A campaign is a meaningful contribution for a side that has scored 43 times in 35 matches. Kristensen has not been a passenger in the attacking phase; he has been a genuine source of output. For a 24-year-old born in January 2002, that combination of defensive reliability and goal threat from the back is the kind of profile that attracts attention in summer windows.
Udinese sit 11th on 47 points, the product of 13 wins, eight draws, and 14 defeats. Runjaić, speaking after the Torino victory, described the result as evidence that "we are seeing the fruits of the work" — a phrase that applies as much to individual players as to the collective. Kristensen is one of those fruits.
With Nicolò Zaniolo publicly describing Udinese as his "last chance" and committing fully to the project, the club has built something resembling a coherent identity under Runjaić. Kristensen fits that identity: young, improving, and productive in ways that do not always show up in the headline numbers. His season ends with three goals, zero assists, and a rating that says he earned his place every week. That is a foundation worth building on.