Massimiliano Allegri woke up yesterday blissfully free of criticism over his team selection following Juventus’ Champions League win over Manchester City which sent them into the round of 16
Massimiliano Allegri’s past as a former journeyman midfielder coupled with his deadpan manner seem to make him an easy target for Italian critics, even when his team are doing well.
But on Wednesday night, his decisions to field a three-man defence, to prefer Alex Sandro to Patrice Evra on the left of midfield and to start with Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala as the two-man strikeforce all paid off handsomely.
“The victory is Allegri’s,” said La Gazzetta dello Sport approvingly following their 1-0 win.
Allegri was greeted with suspicion and even hostility by Juventus fans when he replaced Antonio Conte last season but quickly won them over as his team won a league and cup double and reached the Champions League final.
This season has proved more difficult as he has had to rebuild the team following the departures of playmaker Andrea Pirlo, box-to-box midfielder Arturo Vidal and marksman Carlos Tevez.
Dybala was signed for €40 million ($42.42 million) to replace fellow Argentine Tevez but Allegri, feeling the 22-year-old is not ready to shoulder the same level of responsibility, has often left him on the bench.
Although Dybala started on Wednesday, it was as a partner to Mandzukic, rather than Alvaro Morata as many Juventus supporters had been hoping.
They may also have been disappointed to see Juan Cuadrado start on the bench again rather than the right side of the attack.
As it turned out, Allegri got it spot on.
Mandzukic was too much for the visiting defence to handle and scored the winning goal. Dybala flourished in a supporting role, Stephan Lichtsteiner was always a threat on the right while the three-man defence restricted City’s most dangerous striker Sergio Aguero to one real scoring chance.
Most importantly, Paul Pogba, who has made a sluggish start to the season, enjoyed an excellent match in midfield, looking far more like his former self.
Having won their last three Serie A matches, Juventus are finally starting to click.
“Juve have won three in a row in the league and that has got to be normal for us. We have got through in the Champions League too, and that is not so easy,” said Allegri.
“I have decisions to make, and the fact Alex Sandro had a great game and then Patrice Evra came on and did a good job with his experience is great news for me, because I can rely on both.
“One player cannot play 50 games a season so we’ve got to consider the way we rotate them.”