29 September 2021
Federico Chiesa’s brilliant strike endured defeat upon the defending champions Chelsea on Wednesday evening as Juventus secured their second batch of three points with a 1-0 win at the Allianz Stadium.
After an opening 3-0 win against Malmö, the Bianconeri were looking to build on from their win by stunning the defending Champions. It was an energetic start to the game, where both teams were moving the ball with pace.
The first half-chance fell to Rabiot when he brilliantly intercepted Chelsea’s play and broke away on the counter, but his final cross was long, and it failed to meet a teammate. The first real chance came in the 20th minute when a moment of Chiesa magic saw him intercept play and burst up field before unleashing an angled drive that skimmed past the back post. Chelsea then saw the first dangerous play brought to an abrupt halt when Bentancur’s perfectly timed sliding tackle on Havertz saw him win the ball back.
Juventus were doing most of the attacking and growing in confidence with each passing minute. A lovely piece of interplay between Bernardeschi and Chiesa saw the latter try to direct his shot on goal, but Chelsea’s pressure saw the effort sail wide. Rabiot was next to impress, as he unleashed a flying effort that narrowly sailed over the target. Despite their late efforts the two teams went into the half goalless.
Into the second half and Chelsea barely had a chance to breathe before the Juventus found themselves a goal up courtesy of Chiesa: he got onto the end of Berna’s through ball and fired it into the roof of the net straight from kick-off! The perfect chance to make it 2-0 came in the 64th minute following a wonderful move conducted between Cuadrado and Chiesa: the ball then rolled across to Bernardeschi who just needed it tap it in, however, he tumbled and couldn’t get the shot.
Kean and McKennie were introduced into the game in the 76th minute, as they continued to go in search of a second goal. Kean saw his shot inside the box charged down by Barkley, while Lukaku’s effort sailed just over the corner of the goal frame. An intense few moments saw out the remaining minutes of the game as Juventus went on to claim a second dose of three points in the group stages.
Juventus: Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, De Ligt, Alex Sandro; Bentancur (Chiellini 84'), Locatelli, Rabiot (McKennie 76'); Cuadrado, Bernardeschi (Kulusevski 65'), Chiesa (Kean 76')
Subs: Pinsoglio, Perin, De Sciglio, Chiellini, McKennie, Kean, Rugani, Kulusevski
Chelsea: Mendy; Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso; Ziyech, Havertz; Lukaku
