Champions League Holders Chelsea Beaten 1-0 by Disciplined Juventus in Italy
- Chelsea lacked the clinical edge as they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat in Italy
- Juventus scored their only goal through the in-form Federico Chiesa seconds into the second half
- The Bianconeri stay top of Group F after a flawless start to their Champions League campaign
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Juventus earned arguably their most important win of the season so far in the Champions League as Federico Chiesa’s strike was enough to sink Chelsea in Group H.
Source: UGC
Chiesa’s goal 11 seconds into the second half was enough to ensure back to back defeats for Thomas Tuchel for only the second time as Blues manager.
Despite struggling domestically, The Old Lady showed immense discipline, especially in defence, to keep out Chelsea, who only managed one shot on target.
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It was Chiesa who provided the Bianconeri’s best chance at a goal as he came close in the first half whe he flashed a shot across the face of goal.
His goal eventually came in the second half with a tidy high finish past keeper Edouard Mendy.
Juventus should have doubled their lead but Federico Bernardeschi somehow missed an open goal, but it did not prove costly as Chelsea showed glimpses of hangover from their defeat to Manchester City only four days ago.
Romelu Lukaku in particular was guilty of missing two huge chances as he headed over when it looked like he would find the target and later on shooting off target with an angled shot in a chance he would typically be expected to score.
Winger Kai Havertz also summed up Chelsea’s fortunes on the day as he headed over with virtually the last action of the game to ensure all three points went to the Turin club.
Speaking after the game, Tuchel questioned his team's mentality, saying:
"We were not free enough today, I don't know why. We were a bit slow mentally in our decision making. I don't know why. It is a strange one for us to analyse."
Despite the defeat, Chelsea stay second in Group H, ahead of Zenit St Petersburg whom they meet in back to back group games in their next Champions League fixtures.
Ronaldo with last grasp winner vs Villareal
In related news, Briefly News reported that in another game involving an English side, Cristiani Ronaldo popped up for his side with a late winner as Manchester United claimed important three points against Villareal in Group F.
Ronaldo pounced on a Jesse Lingard to score from a tight angle to complete a thrilling comeback as United had to come from behind after initial trailing from Francisco "Paco" Alcácer's opener.
Source: Briefly News
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
Tshepiso Mametela (Head of Current Affairs Desk) Tshepiso Mametela is a seasoned journalist with eight years of experience writing for online and print publications. He is the Head of Current Affairs at Briefly News. He was a mid-level reporter for The Herald, a senior sports contributor at Opera News SA, and a general reporter for Caxton Local Media’s Bedfordview and Edenvale News and Joburg East Express community titles. He has attended media workshops organised by the Wits Justice Project and Wits Centre for Journalism, including crime and court reporting. Email: tshepiso.mametela@briefly.co.za
