1. Alex Sandro and Juan Cuadrado had miserable nights against Inter’s wing-backs
In an attempt to imitate the system of Inter, Allegri launched his eleven in a 3-5-2 formation, with Juan Cuadrado and Alex Sandro functioning as wing-backs.
The Bianconeri’s six-time Scudetto-winning manager might have expected the same result as the one against Chelsea in the Champions League a few weeks back.
But plans, especially in football, don’t always develop in the way one expects them to unfold. In this instance, Inter’s Matteo Darmian and Ivan Perisic outshone the South American duo of Juventus in the Derby d’Italia.
While Darmian was defensively firm against Alex Sandro, Perisic kept the Colombian on his toes. On top of eliminating Cuadrado’s threat going forward, Perisic caught the eye with his forward thrusts down the left for the Nerazzurri. Capable of hitting targets with both feet, the Croat won three ground duels and two aerial duels, according to the stats from Whoscored.com.
In all, Alex Sandro and Juan Cuadrado got annihilated by their respective counterparts. Mattia de Sciglio‘s return to form and Federico Chiesa’s aptness as a right-sided midfielder could remind Sandro and Cuadrado of the prospect that their starting positions in the team are far from settled.
It is competition for places within a squad that keeps a team going. Maybe, in the same way, it could prove to be beneficial for the Old Lady.