Higuain salutes Allegri 'courage' after formation change

Gonzalo Higuain saluted the "courage" of Massimiliano Allegri to change formation after Juventus picked up their third successive win since switching to a 4-2-3-1 system.

Juve travelled to Sassuolo on the back of victories over Lazio and AC Milan in Serie A and the Coppa Italia respectively, with coach Allegri openly admitting in the build-up that motivation could be an issue.

But the reigning champions produced a professional display and never looked like dropping points after Higuain and Sami Khedira scored in the first 25 minutes, wrapping up the 2-0 win early on.

And with that triumph making it three wins in a row with the new formation, Higuain praised Allegri's flexibility and desire to mix things up after 2-1 loss at Fiorentina on January 15.

"The boss had the courage to change the formation," Higuain told Mediaset Premium. "Whoever plays is showing they can do it [play in that system].

"We are still hoping to develop; there is still a long way to go. If we play like that it will be difficult for everyone.

"With this formation we need to make an extra effort going forward. We will keep playing in this formation and with these performances. We want to try and win the sixth Scudetto [in succession].

"On other away trips we have got our attitude wrong, this time we didn't and we brought it home.

"We still need to improve and we can't make mistakes. After losing in Florence it was hard to maintain our high pressure."