While Juventus sensation Paulo Dybala has put in some very impressive individual performances this season, there is no doubt he has suffered somewhat due to the team’s lack of balance and failure to perform cohesively as a unit.
This is something coach Massimiliano Allegri must address if his side are to compete for honours during the second half of the campaign.
The Argentine forward has shown flashes of brilliance within a string of steady showings in his new trequartista role, flanked by Juan Cuadrado and Mario Mandžukić on either side of him.
Despite doing a solid job for the team in that position, there is a growing feeling that he is more effective pushed higher up the pitch. With that in mind, there have been calls for him to play in tandem with Gonzalo Higuaín should the Tuscan coach elect to revert to a 3-5-2 system going forward.
Make no mistake, with 12 goals to his name after just 14 rounds of action, no one is calling into question the quality of his overall game.
That said, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that the former Palermo man’s explosive qualities are best deployed alongside a more orthodox and physical number 9. From seasons gone by, most calcio fans are only too well aware of how deadly a combination the two can be.
The Bianconeri’s recent 3-2 defeat at the hands of Sampdoria seems to have been the catalyst for Allegri to change system again, just as a 2-1 loss against Fiorentina in January prompted him to set his XI up in an attacking 4-2-3-1 formation.
This time round it appears he is bound to revert to a three-man defence, with the aforementioned Cuadrado and Alex Sandro tasked with providing ammunition from the flanks.
The opportunity to resume his preferred position could be exactly what Dybala needs to reach new heights, with crucial matches against Napoli, Olympiacos and Inter all looming large as we head into December.
Another brave decision by Allegri could breathe new life into a squad of players which has, in truth, failed to convince in many aspects of what it has done since that ill-fated night in Cardiff as 2016/17 drew to a close.
Written by Jordan Russell
Follow Jordan on Twitter @JordRuss96
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