Understanding the Mistakes Massimiliano Allegri Made in 1st Part of Season

There is little doubt that the 2015/16 campaign did not begin well for Juventus, the reigning Serie A champions mounting a poor defence of the title they won so comfortably last season. Indeed, having finished a staggering 17 points ahead of their closest challengers, it was somewhat odd to see the Bianconeri struggling.

Losing three times in their opening six matches, coach Massimiliano Allegri had already overseen as many league defeats this term as he did in the whole of his first year with the club. Despite the drastic overhaul of the playing squad, he came under much criticism and scrutiny, as his historic achievements were quickly forgotten.

"Allegri is lost: We cannot go on like this!" proclaimed TuttoSport the morning after the most recent of those losses (h/t Football Italia), the Turin-based newspaper believing the coach had steered his team off course as they fell to an impressive Napoli.

While questioning the ability of the man who led Juventus to only the third league and cup double in the club's history—not to mention a first Champions League final in over a decade—is clearly hyperbolic, Allegri was not blameless.

Early in the season, with his options limited by a mounting injury list, he opted to field Simone Padoin in the centre of his three-man midfield. While a willing servant and hard-working player, the limitations of the former Atalanta man were exposed in that role, with both Udinese and AS Roma taking advantage.

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Perhaps fielding him was an attempt to shield younger players such as Paul Pogba and Stefano Sturaro from criticism, knowing that the veteran midfielder could handle the criticism that came his way.

Clearly, Allegri had not asked him to be the playmaker, but the 31-year-old failed to protect the defence, and the coach soon found an alternative. Indeed, once the likes of Hernanes and Mario Lemina arrived, Padoin found himself excluded from the Champions League squad, per the club's official website.

During the game at the San Paolo—which Napoli emphatically won despite the 2-1 scoreline—Juan Cuadrado was omitted from the starting XI, which should perhaps be counted as another error by the coach.

It is, of course, impossible to know the health and fitness of the Colombian, but without him, the Bianconeri lacked an incisive attacking edge. The former Fiorentina and Chelsea man has been a constant threat since moving back to Serie A, and benching him against the Partenopei undoubtedly hurt Juventus.

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"We want to leave alibis aside, but certainly the calendar is packed, and with so many injuries, we're never able to field the same XI," director general Beppe Marotta told Sports Mediaset before that outing (h/t Football Italia). "The coach is put in a difficult position and cannot choose his favoured lineup."

Thankfully, that encounter appears to have been something of a nadir for the team, who have since experienced a dramatic upturn in both fortune and performances. With his squad finally returning to full health, Allegri was able to name an unchanged side for meetings with Sevilla then Bologna, and the results speak for themselves.

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A 2-0 win over the Spanish side was followed by a 3-1 victory over the Felsinei, the coach using a fluid 4-3-3 system that negated the fact both Stephan Lichtsteiner and Martin Caceres were unavailable. They must now look to continue that positive form, as Allegri himself noted in a recent interview with Sky Sport Italia as he looked ahead to this weekend's meeting with bitter rivals Inter at San Siro.

"To win the Scudetto, we need consistent results, which is something we've struggled with so far this season in Serie A," he said, per Football Italia.

With the lessons learned from those early errors, three points against the Nerazzurri would represent progress and show that Max Allegri and Juventus are far from "lost."