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How has Juventus manager Allegri fared so far this season?
As if often the case with the Livornese manager, his work evokes rather extreme reactions. "He's terrible!" "He won a Serie A with a terrible Milan team!" "He took Juventus to the Champions League final!" "It was Conte's team!"... you get the picture.
This season, too, has veered between extremes, from a very poor start (8 points in 7 games, and it could ultimately cost them) to the Turinese side's recent resurgence, where the Bianconeri have done well enough to breathe down the Serie A's leading pack's necks.
The campaign certainly didn't begin very auspiciously, with Old Lady struggling with the 4-3-1-2 and leaving Alex Sandro and Paulo Dybala (and their combined €66 million pricetag) on the bench, with front row seats to watch Hernanes struggle in the middle of the park.
Allegri would opt for a return to 3-5-2, Juventus' staple under predecessor Antonio Conte, allowing the defence to revert to its favourite formation and its best form, and giving the team the solidity and compactness it was looking for.
One of the highlights has been Paulo Dybala's emergence, able to give his best with a team-mate in front and playing as a second striker. But even here, there is room for scepticism: was Allegri good to slowly ease La Joya in, or did he throw him in the mix too late and cost his side key points? It's a borderline one, we can guarantee you that.
The ultimate feeling is that Allegri has yet to leave his mark on Juventus, at least when it comes to playing in Italy. The squad is still rooted in Conte's playing style, and it took the veterans' intervention to shake things up after the defeat to Sassuolo, with Evra and Buffon assuming key roles.
Then again, Allegri had the departures of Carlos Tevez, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal to make up for.
However, the Tuscan coach didn't seem very brave when it came to dealing with this transition, especially when he left the Bianconeri's shiniest toys (Dybala and Sandro) on the bench.
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