Defeating Juventus 4-0 in the penultimate turn on the evening of November 23, Chelsea overcame the main opponent to occupy the top of Group H and get an early ticket to the 1/8 round of the Champions League.
Chelsea's first three goals were scored by Nathaniel Chalobah, Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who grew up in the Chelsea academy. It was the first time three English players had scored in the same Champions League game for Chelsea, and the third time in the tournament's history that a team with at least three English players had scored, after Man City. United met Brondby in 1998 (Beckham, Cole, Neville, Scholes), and Man Utd met Roma in 2007 (Carrick, Smith, Rooney). Timo Werner was the one who sealed a 4-0 victory for Chelsea yesterday.
This result helps Chelsea rise to the top of Group H, with 12 points but above Juventus thanks to the difference. In the last turn on December 8, Chelsea were Zenit's guests, and Juventus returned home to Malmo.
Chelsea entered the match with a big boost in spirit when the duo of Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku recovered from injuries, although only as a substitute. Coach Thomas Tuchel ranked Christian Pulisic as the highest kick in attack, while Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech supported both sides. Meanwhile, Juventus used a 4-4-2 formation with the duo Alvaro Morata and Federico Chiesa kicking the highest, instead of placing three strikers like the 1-0 victory in the first leg in Turin.
Chelsea pushed up the squad right at the opening. In the first phase of the ball 2 minutes, N'Golo Kante escaped down the right wing and released smoothly, but Hudson Odoi missed. Ben Chillwell also missed the center of the ball and was stopped by a Juventus player. In the 15th minute, Chilwell stretched for Pulisic to shoot from close range, but could not beat goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Juventus defense only stood firm until 25 minutes. From Ziyech's corner, the ball hit Adrien Rabiot's head and then bounced into the hands of defender Antonio Rudiger and went to the position of teammate Chalobah. The 22-year-old central defender volleys one-touch to hit the roof of the away team's net. VAR then stepped in, determined Rudiger to have a close hand and recognized the goal for Chelsea, in the face of a backlash from Juventus players. Chalobah, 22 years and 141 days, became the youngest Chelsea player to score in his first Champions League start, after Oscar in September 2012 (21 years and 10 days), and the youngest English player after Daniel Sturridge in September 2010 (21 years and 14 days).
Juventus nearly equalized three minutes later. Manuel Locatelli poked a gap to let Morata escape to the ball past Edouard Mendy's head. But 37-year-old midfielder Thiago Silva was able to break the ball right on the goal line. This is also the best opportunity for "Old Lady" in the first 45 minutes.
Chelsea put more pressure in the second half. In the 56th minute, De Ligt cleared the ball from Chilwell's cross to the right position of Reece James. The winger born in 1999 caught the ball with his chest and then hit a cross to double the lead. James has scored five goals and assisted five times in all competitions this season, equaling Mo Salah.
Two minutes later, Chelsea found a third goal. A series of coordinated attacks in the penalty area were ended by Hudson-Odoi with a close-range shot, opposite the direction of Szczesny's movement. This is Hudson-Odoi's second goal this season, after the one in the Premier League.
Chelsea closed the goal party in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Weston McKennie missed the ball, creating conditions for Ziyech to get down and stretch Werner to cushion the ball into an empty net, sealing a 4-0 victory. In 50 matches leading Chelsea in all competitions, Tuchel won 32, drew 11 and lost 7. "The Blues" only conceded 24 goals, kept 31 clean sheets in those 50 matches, the best achievement of any team in the group. five major European tournaments of the same period.
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