Juventus: Massimiliano Allegri's Tinkering Finally Has the Bianconeri Rolling

A week ago, Juventus were facing the most important week of their season.  A win against Olympiakos was required to have any realistic chance of advancing in the Champions League.  In their previous three games in the Italian Serie A they had drawn 1-1 against Sassuolo, lost 1-0 to Genoa and had difficulty dispatching Empoli 2-0.

The team had gotten by with recycling the 3-5-2 system that Antonio Conte used to bring Juve to the pinnacle of Italian soccer.  As the weeks wore on, though, it was becoming clear that Conte's successor, Massimiliano Allegri, didn't know how to get the most out of the system.

The coach had been fielding questions for almost the entire season as to whether or not he was planning to shift the team to a system with a four-man defensive line.  As his team's attack stagnated, the questions became louder and more frequent.

Allegri finally answered them Tuesday when he switched to a 4-3-1-2 formation—or 4-1-2-1-2, if you go by WhoScored.com's notation.  The changes have paid off handsomely and could end up turning Juve's season around.

The differences between the 4-3-1-2 and 3-5-2 were profound both on Tuesday against Olympiakos and on Sunday against Parma.  The Bianconeri were more direct in attack and were able to utilize more of their deepest and best personnel group—their midfielders.  Able to play the entirety of the original "MVP" midfield—Claudio Marchisio, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal—plus young phenom Paul Pogba, Juve overran Olympiakos' midfield and dominated possession.  Unlike previous games, however, they turned that possession into constant pressure and forced the Greeks to defend and try to break out.

Juve earned three corners and had two shots saved before creating the movement that led to Andrea Pirlo's free-kick opener.  When Olympiakos took a shock lead, they went straight back to the attack and scored twice in 90 seconds to win the game.  Their defense didn't suffer, either.  The Greek champions had a few dangerous-looking runs, but hardly any of them ended up troubling Gianluigi Buffon, and both of their goals came from lax set-piece defending.

A wrinkle against Parma on the weekend made the new approach even more potent.  Carlos Tevez moved back slightly, almost forming a 4-3-2-1 "Christmas tree."  Tevez was given license to roam sideline to sideline in the attacking third, while Roberto Pereyra—subbing in for the suspended Vidal—held down the center as a trequartista.

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Tevez's free reign—a carryover from Conte, who allowed the Argentinian to create from anywhere in the attacking third—pulled Parma's defense apart, allowing Fernando Llorente to exploit massive gaps in the defence.  When Kingsley Coman was given the same freedom after he replaced Tevez on the hour, he created the same opportunities for Alvaro Morata.  The result?  A 7-0 slaughter that served as an example to Roma and any other challengers—Juve are still on top.

It's worth wondering why Allegri didn't make this switch sooner.  He was obviously unfamiliar with the system, and that lack of understanding prevented the team from functioning the way it did for Conte.  The 3-5-2 was flat and lacked variety.  The shift to a four-man defensive system, however, gives Allegri much more versatility.

He can choose to put all of his top midfielders on the field at once.  He could also plug Tevez, Coman or Sebastian Giovinco into the trequartista role, turning his attack into a de facto trident.  The system will also get the best out of full-backs like Patrice Evra and Stephan Lichtsteiner.  The Swiss right-back in particular has looked right at home as a traditional full-back—the style in which he played his entire career until he adapted to the wing-back role in Conte's 3-5-2.

Unlike the 3-5-2, which displays pretty much the same look every time, Allegri can—if he works things right—use this 4-3-1-2/4-3-2-1 to keep opponents guessing as to what they'll have to confront.

There are weaknesses in Juve's new look.  Whether they line up in a 4-3-1-2 or 4-3-2-1, they will lack a true winger and need to rely on the full-backs for width.  That could be risky if they end up meeting a team like Barcelona that uses full-backs in a similar fashion.  In those cases Allegri could break out the 3-5-2 to help pin their full-backs back, much the way Cesare Prandelli did at the international level when Italy played Spain.

This shift was a long time coming.  It probably should have been made several weeks ago.  What's important, however, is that it's happened, and that it seems to be working.  

Allegri has finally gotten the beast to wake up—and as long as it stays that way, Juve's challengers don't have a chance.