Why Allegri is right to bench Dybala tonight

Jordan Russell (@JordRuss96)
09 dic 2017

Massimiliano Allegri is not afraid to make big decisions; he has proven that time and time again during his tenure at Juventus. Ahead of tonight’s huge match at the Allianz Stadium against Inter, he looks set to make another by dropping Paulo Dybala to the substitutes bench, Many Bianconeri fans will no doubt be enraged by this – he is their most valuable player after all – but there are several reasons why it could work out in their favour.

Defining the Argentine’s role within the starting line-up has been troublesome so far this campaign, with him having been deployed as a trequartista and even a box-to-box midfielder. Clearly, his preferred position is in attack alongside one of Gonzalo Higuaín or Mario Mandžukić. Given how consistent Inter’s start to the season has been, they will be full of confidence and are sure to ask questions of Juve, both tactically and physically.

Whether or not Allegri opts to match his counterpart Luciano Spalletti’s 4-2-3-1 or deploy a three-man defence remains to be seen, though the fact he looks set to drop Dybala means he is thinking very carefully about how to disrupt the rhythm of the game.

Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time the Tuscan tactician has dropped a big-name player to the bench this season. He did exactly the same with the aforementioned Higuaín against Torino and Olympiacos, with the ex-Napoli man coming on to score the winner against the Greek champions in a crucial Champions League match.

There is method in what some might call Allegri’s madness – there always is. He will already have a fair idea of how he expects the game to go – he will also have given thought to when he might look to introduce Dybala, perhaps to give his team that extra edge late on in what is sure to be a very tight encounter between two sides who will be as keen to not lose as they will be to win. The stakes really are that high.