Andrea Pirlo made some small but significant changes to his formation in the impressive win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, and the Bianconeri coach could be set to confirm the new line-up for upcoming games.
For the first time, the Juventus manager shifted from his 3-4-1-2 formation to a more balanced 3-5-2, as Aaron Ramsey was used to play in the same line of Weston McKennie, with Arthur Melo in the middle as a playmaker.
The new formation helped Juventus to control the midfield and avoid dangerous counterattacks, like in the games against Benevento and Torino, but this change could be a problem for Dejan Kulusevski, as it won’t be easy for Pirlo to find a position for him in the 3-5-2.
Kulusevski performed well when he played as a striker in the first matches of the season, but in this position, he would most likely become the backup to Alvaro Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo, and there is also Paulo Dybala who is struggling to find a place in Pirlo’s line-up, so it won’t be easy for him to feature in many games.
The former Parma player could adapt and play as a wing-back, but on the right, it is nearly impossible to rule out Juan Cuadrado from the starting XI, and on the left (not his favourite position) he would be in competition with Federico Chiesa, Alex Sandro and Federico Bernardeschi.
Kulusevski’s talent mustn’t be wasted, the Sweden wonderkid represents the future of Juventus, but if Pirlo keeps going with the new formation Dejan will have to learn playing as a central midfielder, otherwise, he risks being frequently benched.
