Juventus vs. Udinese: Winners and Losers from Serie A Game

Serie A returned this weekend, with the reigning champions opening the defence of their title at home to Udinese. The Friulian side travelled to Turin, taking to the field at Juventus Stadium in a vastly altered state as Massimiliano Allegri sent his new-look side into league action for the first time.

The coach did so with confidence, knowing that—despite the exits of Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez—the Bianconeri had comfortably dispatched Lazio in the Supercoppa Italiana two weeks ago.

That game showed that the gap between Juventus and the peninsula’s other big clubs appeared to remain intact, but Udinese exploited their weaknesses to snatch a shocking 1-0 victory.

Over the following pages is a look at the winners and losers from Sunday’s encounter, picking out the best and worst performances from what proved to be a difficult evening for Italian football’s Old Lady.

Winner: Cyril Thereau (Udinese)

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After 75 difficult minutes in which their opponents had dominated proceedings, Udinese finally created an opening, and Cyril Thereau was ideally placed to capitalise.

The French striker netted 13 times last term, and after an excellent cross from the right, he made no mistake at the far post, beating Gigi Buffon at close range to give his side a surprise lead.

Loser: Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus)

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Stephan Lichtsteiner has been a model of consistency for Juventus over the past four seasons, and for the majority of this match, The Swiss Express once again turned in an accomplished display.

Yet as that fateful Udinese attack came, it was his poor marking that Cyril Thereau capitalised upon, and Lichtsteiner was withdrawn soon after. While it was a necessary substitution, he perhaps paid the price for an uncharacteristic lapse that the 31-year-old is unlikely to repeat as the 2015/16 campaign wears on.

Winner: Kingsley Coman (Juventus)

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While there is little doubt that Juventus in 2015/16 is a vastly altered side to the one that faced Barcelona in June’s Champions League final, a number of similarities held over from last season.

Chief among them was arguably the presence of Kingsley Coman in Max Allegri’s starting XI, just as he was on the opening day 12 months ago. The 19-year-old lined up against Chievo last term and retained his place this time around, looking to hurt Udinese with his pace and invention.

Bayern Munich are reportedly looking to steal him away, with La Gazzetta dello Sport believing the Bundesliga side have made a bid of around €19 million, according to Forza Italian Football. Given the belief his current coach continually shows in him, it is hard to imagine the Bianconeri entertaining such an offer.

Loser: The 3-5-2 Formation (Juventus)

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One of the major features of Juve’s success last term was Allegri’s move away from the 3-5-2 formation, although the coach did revert to it to protect a lead during a number of high-profile matches.

Yet due to the lengthy injury list with which the Bianconeri arrived at kick-off on Sunday, he was forced to deploy it once more, with the loss of Claudio Marchisio and Sami Khedira in particularly causing issues here. That left the side light in midfield, which prompted Allegri to field an extra defender and deprived his side of the attacking creativity that punctuated their performances last season.

It also reinforced the belief that Juventus are looking for one more player in midfield in order to complete the squad, with director general Beppe Marotta telling reporters the club "want a top player," per Football Italia.

Winner: Stefano Colantuono (Udinese)

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If Allegri’s tactical choices were forced upon him, then new Udinese boss Stefano Colantuono made his own decisions perfectly, mirroring his opposite number with a 3-5-2 formation of his own.

That compounded Juve’s problems in creating space and time in which to attack, leaving the reigning champions looking blunt and devoid of ideas. Colantuono deserves huge credit, as his choices panned out well and helped Udinese record their first-ever victory at Juventus Stadium.