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UEFA Champions League News: Juventus 1-0 Chelsea: important talking points as the old lady upsets the reigning champions Tuchel in Turin

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On a night when many thought Chelsea would score the Champions League in a foreign land, the reigning European champions were struck by a shocking 1-0 away defeat to courageous Juventus.

Failing to recover from defeat at Manchester City’s hands last weekend, Thomas Tuchel’s side sported another pot when he saw Federico Chiesa stun them just 11 seconds after the second half.

With the Chelsea manager slashing a frustrated figure on the side flank, the Premier League giants were largely smothered by a robust Juventus defense.

With the Old Lady leaving Turin with what will be remembered as a showy 1-0 win at Allianz Stadium, we took a look at the main talking points.

A black and white masterclass

While Juventus may have found themselves in the midst of a very public crisis at the start of the 2021/22 season, the Italian heavyweights have begun to show some real signs of life in the past three weeks.

Managing to secure two consecutive Serie A wins 3-2 against Spezia and Sampdoria, return manager Massimiliano Allegri saw his team field what was arguably their best performance of the season on Wednesday night.

Backed by strong home support, despite the presence of fewer than 20,000 fans at Allianz Stadium, the Old Lady deserves a series of praise as she managed to get through a brilliant start of the reigning European champions.

Despite seeing both Alvaro Morata and Pablo Dybala excluded from their midweek showdown after taking some hits last weekend, Allegri gave a tactical lesson while teaming up with Federico Chiesa along with the surprise pick Federico Bernardeschi.

Catching chill at Chelsea just 11 seconds after returning for the second half, Chiesa clinically overtook Edouard Mendy and sent home support into overdrive.

Staying steadfast in defense and led by Italian summer hero Leonardo Bonucci, Allegri would have been extremely excited to finally see his team record a much-appreciated clean sheet.

Despite Allegri’s entire starting line-up have only collected seven goals since the start of the 2021/22 season, Juventus have shown no signs of a team that should be in the midst of a transition.

Tuchel’s week to forget

While Chelsea may have made the trip to Turin on Wednesday night with many believing they would score consecutive Champions League victories, the Blues only showed the same problems that haunted them last weekend.

Knowing they missed a golden opportunity when they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the capital four days ago, Thomas Tuchel’s side once again showed another pot at Allianz Stadium.

An animated figure in his technical area and clearly far from satisfied with his team’s performance, the former PSG manager is probably in his most difficult period since taking the lead at Stamford Bridge.

Choosing not to name a single British player in their starting XI for the first time since joining the English giants in January, Chelsea suddenly appear to be on a boil.

While many feel the Blues could potentially stage a famous double win this season, they now have the feel of a team that is really looking for some sort of boost.

With Tuchel now overtaken by both Allegri and Guardiola within days, Chelsea clearly missed midfielder N’Golo Kante as he was left out after returning a positive COVID-19 test.

Chelsea’s attacking problems

Failing to find a way to overtake Manchester City last weekend and not returning a single shot on goal for the first time during Tuchel’s reign, there is no doubt that their German manager will have a real headache for his team’s attacking problems.

Admitting earlier in the week that both Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech were struggling with their confidence, the Blues once again staged another toothless performance in Turin.

With Romelu Lukaku missing out on a couple of golden chances in the second half, despite being largely anonymous in the final third, their returning Belgian star got a real lesson from the expert Bonucci.

Also having to watch as Havertz fired his header from close range over the crossbar in the closing seconds, Chelsea were yelling for someone to pull the strings between the lines.

However, with Mason Mount absent due to an injury problem, it almost seems like Tuchel is still unsure which attacking trio is his first pick.

Surprisingly, including the 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge four days ago, Wednesday’s visitors have now managed to register just one shot on goal in 180 minutes of action.

Match report:

Juve: Szczesny (7), Danilo (7.5), Bonucci (9), De Ligt (8.5), Lobo Silva (7), Bentancur (7.5), Locatelli (8), Rabiot (7.5), Chiesa (8.5), Bernardeschi (7 ), Cuadrado (7)

Subtitles: Chiellini (7), McKennie (7), Kulusevski (7.5), Kean (7.5)

Chelsea: Mendy (6), Christensen (6.5), Thiago Silva (6), Rüdiger (6), Azpilicueta (5), Jorginho (4), Kovacic (3), Alonso (3), Ziyech (3), Havertz (3) , Lukaku (3)

Subtitles: Barkley (4), Loftus-Cheek (5), Chalobah (4.5), Chilwell (4), Hudson-Odoi (7)

Goals: Church 46 ′

yellow cards: Juventus: Cuadrado – Chelsea: Rüdiger, Alonso, Ziyech

red cards: N / A

Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano

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