First of all let’s start by confirming the following: This is Massimiliano Allegri’s world and we’re just living in it.

When Juventus hosted Fiorentina at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday, not even the eagerly anticipated (and slightly overhyped) attacking trident could have swayed the attention away from the man in charge of the whole damn show.

While Angel Di Maria did enjoy a decent outing, his attacking partners – Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic – were somewhat underwhelming against their former employers, in what turned out to be a sloppy affair overall.

So even when Lord Max decided to heed to his leal subjects by thrusting all three stars at once, the initial result wasn’t as thrilling as many were hoping for. But while the chemistry between the trio is ought to improve, perhaps the issue lies elsewhere, more particularly in the middle of the park.

Admittedly, Manuel Locatelli and Adrien Rabiot both enjoyed solid outings, with the latter grabbing the encounter’s solitary goal. However, neither man is a genuine Regista, which forced either Di Maria or Chiesa to drop back and help in the buildup.

This subsequently resulted in a disguised 3-5-1-1 formation similar to the one adopted in previous months, bringing us back to square one.

But enough about mortals. If we’re going to discuss the action from yesterday, then we absolutely can’t elapse the ultimate star of the show.

Intentionally or not, Allegri stole the limelight from start to finish. Whether he was having an awkward conversation with one of his players, wildly celebrating a VAR call and earning himself a booking, or casually inviting a fan in attendance for a fight, this was Mad Max at his finest. So is there anything this man can’t do?

Well, perhaps there is.

Unfortunately, the Livorno native is seemingly unable to shake off his old school mentality. Even when he opted to implement what was arguably his most attacking starting lineup since his return to the club, he still couldn’t resist the old ways when the going got tough.

Yesterday, Fiorentina seemed to be tactically and mentally broken, failing to threaten Wojciech Szczesny for the first 80 minutes of the match. So when Vincenzo Italiano thrusted a host of attacking options, the Bianconeri could have taken advantage of the situation by harrying their unbalanced rivals on the counters.

But instead of bringing young and pacey wingers like Samuel Iling-Junior or Matias Soulé, Allegri decided to retreat by introducing a host of midfielders and leaving Moise Kean alone upfront, as if to invite the hesitant Tuscans to attack.

Eventually, Fiorentina accepted the call and managed to score an equalizer through Gaetano Castrovilli, but was thankfully disallowed by the semi-automated offside, as advanced technology made a third vital intervention and cementing itself as the second star of the show.

At the end of the day, Allegri got his way. He won this round against all foes – the outsiders as well as the insiders – and telling that detractor in the stands to shut it was quite symbolic, and perhaps a message for a significantly larger number of recipients.

Nonetheless, Juventus won’t always escape unscathed while adopting such regressive tactics, even if it was only reserved for the final minutes.

Unfortunately for all of us, the current wall pales in comparison of the one erected during the golden days of Giorgio Chiellini and Gianluigi Buffon, and won’t stand a chance against tougher opponents, as it must be said that our foe on Sunday happened to be a struggling side searching for an identity.

But then again, perhaps Juventus are simply meant to struggle in the current day and age. So in this regard, Allegri is simply the perfect commander for this imperfect epoch.