Anyway ... thank you very much for joining me. Here is David Hytner’s fine report from Stamford Bridge.
Updated
Tuchel: “Very good performance. We wanted to stay patient but we did not want to fall asleep. The team did very well; it’s so tough to create chances and score goals and we made so many.
“We were sharper, we were even more determined, we took more risks in the areas of the pitch it is necessary to take risks.
“In Turin we had control but did not penetrate.
“We do the invisible work as we are very disciplined.
“Chilwell has a sharp pain in the knee and Kante has twisted his knee.”
Juventus managed a single shot on target, whereas Chelsea had eight. A night to forget for the Italians who supposedly had 49% of the possession.
Elsewhere ...
Benfica break with a numbers advantage in the 93rd minute and Haris Seferovic still somehow doesn't score against Barcelona! 😬
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 23, 2021
Jorge Jesus' reaction sums it up... 😅#UCL pic.twitter.com/oCmyI5MrRN
Juventus had four in four in the Champions League before tonight and there reputation goes before them, so to concede four goals in a game will really hurt such a team.
Tricky to pick a man of the match tonight as pretty much every Chelsea was on their A game. James can have it as he seemed to influence everything from right-back, which is impressive. Special mention to Ziyech.
Full-time! Chelsea 4-0 Juventus
An utterly dominant performance from Chelsea. They are now in pole position to top the group.
GOAL! Chelsea 4-0 Juventus (Werner, 90+5)
James volleys a stunning pass out to Ziyech on the left, who is allowed to get the ball after McKennie misses it, allowing the winger to send a cross into the six-yard box where Werner is waiting to tap home.
Updated
90+2 mins: Arthur shoots from 25 yards but it goes nowhere near the net.
Moments later, Kean drags a shot wide. What a night for Juve.
90 mins: Three mins added on, which will probably mean another 300 seconds of Juventus chasing the ball.
This game is done and dusted. Why bother adding so much time on?
88 mins: Werner slips the ball through to Ziyech who hits a first-time shot but Szczesny gets down quickly to stop.
“In a 3-0 game, I am going to comment on something inane to point out that Tuchel is a good manager,” emails Ted Storer. “ How many other managers in a Champions League game are going to use their full complement of subs by the 75th minute? With crowded fixtures in the EPL and his entire team (almost) coming back from an international break, what a great move. It doesn’t seem like his freind at Liverpool, Herr Klopp seems to be able to do the same.”
86 mins: It’s all been pretty subdued since the third went in but at least a few subs have picked up appearance feeds. a
He knows a thing or two about Chelsea.
Total dominance from The Chels…can’t remember many teams that have made Juventus look this ordinary in this competition..top performance!!
— Jody Morris (@morriskid) November 23, 2021
84 mins: Dybala swings in a corner from the left but he finds no one in the box. It is sent back into the area and once again cleared but only as far as McKennie on the edge of the box, from where he whacks a shot which Mendy tips over.
82 mins: Dybala drives into the box and goes down under pressure from Rudiger but the Juventus nor the referee are interested in a foul being awarded.
80 mins: Arthur tries to dribble the ball up the pitch but he is dispossessed and Werner takes the ball on to shoot from distance but his shot is blocked.
Koni De Winter is on for what I think is his Juventus debut, so that’s nice.
78 mins: Mendy has 12 clean sheets in 16 Champions League appearances for Chelsea. He should get another one here as he is yet to make a save.
McKennie lines up a terrible long throw, which is what Juventus have been reduced to. The attack ends when Dybala whacks a shot 37373928 yards over.
76 mins: Hudson-Odoi is replaced by Mount, who should feel a lot lighter after losing his wisdom teeth. Saul is on for Jorginho, a rare outing for the Spaniard.
74 mins: Chelsea are very much managing the game here as they look to get through the final stages by exerting the least amount of energy possible in order to save themselves for Manchester United at the weekend.
72 mins: Juventus are currently passing the ball slowly from side to side, which is unlikely to open up the Chelsea defence.
Chilwell and Pulisic are replaced by Azpilicueta and Werner.
70 mins: Azipilicueta, Alonso and Werner are preparing to come on.
Foot like a traction engine.
STRIIIIIIIIKE! 🎯
— BT Sport (@btsport) November 23, 2021
A thunderous hit from Reece James!#UCL pic.twitter.com/fQzbafKMug
68 mins: Chilwell is banging the turf in the centre circle. I am not sure what has happened here either. I think Rabiot caught him on the top of the foot. Hoddle is trying to diagnose him, too, claiming it is a knee issue - he seems to be right and Chilwell hobbles off. He is basically House.
Arthur and Kean are on for Juve, which should turn the tide.
66 mins: Hoddle on co-comms claims it is a bad ankle twist for Ziyech.
Jorginho and Bonucci are having a chat with hands and shirts covering their mouths to avoid Italians lipreading their secrets.
64 mins: Ziyech drives at the Juventus defence and ends up in a heap inside the box after losing the ball on the edge. I am not exactly sure what is wrong. He seems to have run into De Ligt and that’s about it. Maybe he is just tired after a fine opening hour here tonight.
62 mins: Juventus really do look like a mid-table team at the moment. They are completely devoid of quality tonight. They have had one decent chance and spent the rest of the match camped in their own half.
Reece James = good.
5 - Reece James (5 goals, 5 assists) is one of only two players to both score 5+ goals and assist 5+ goals in all competitions for Premier League clubs this season, along with Mo Salah (16 goals, 7 assists). Hot. pic.twitter.com/Vk1iVJlxza
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 23, 2021
60 mins: Without being too jingoistic about this ... it is nice to see Chelsea have three English scorers in the Champions League. There was a time a young English player would not get near a Chelsea first team but this current crop are proving their worth.
GOAL! Chelsea 3-0 Juventus (Hudson-Odoi, 58)
A third English scorer for Chelsea! James is in the middle of the action once more with a lovely flick; the ball ends up with Loftus-Cheek who shuffles and shimmies to find space, before laying it off for Hudson-Odoi to place into the back of the net.
Updated
GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Juventus (James, 56)
WHAT A HIT! The ball goes across the box to James, he chests it down and rifles a shot beyond Szczesny.
Updated
55 mins: Bentancur is caught out 25 yards from his own goal, Ziyech takes it towards the box but his pass sends Hudson-Odoi too wide, and his shot is not tricky to save.
53 mins: Rabiot, who had a spell at Manchester City as a 13-year-old, makes it to the sidelines and should be OK to continue.
James whips in a free-kick from the left for Thiago Silva to flick on its way towards the net but Szczesny gets down well.
51 mins: James pings a volleyed pass which whacks Rabiot straight in the face, leaving the France midfielder on the deck holding his noggin’ and Chelsea with a corner, to add insult to injury.
49 mins: Reece James gives Alex Sandro the runaround. I do not think there is an English player in better form at the moment than the Chelsea right-back but I am happy to be corrected.
Ziyech finds the gap to exploit, allowing Hudson-Odoi to race through on goal but he just can’t get his shot away before he is caught.
Updated
47 mins: Rudiger catches Morata in the back to gift Juventus a free-kick on the halfway line.
Brendan, I could discuss this all day but I will try to keep this short: I haven’t a clue.
@Will_Unwin Hey from Norway Will. Can I ask why Juventus are "leading" the group right now? With points and head-to-head even? Is it reverse alphabetical order now? Feel free to bore me with details ;)
— Brendan Large (@brendanlarge) November 23, 2021
Second half
Peep! Peep! Here we go again!
Good stuff from Thiago Silva.
Superb stuff from Thiago Silva to give Chelsea the lead at half-time! ❌💪 pic.twitter.com/Q43Nfitgs8
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 23, 2021
Give it Carrick until the end of time.
A Football Weekly Live: Christmas Special, you say?
Half-time: Chelsea 1-0 Juventus
The hosts are dominated the match from start to finish against a well-disciplined Juventus but they have given up a few chances and Chelsea have deservedly taken one.
45 mins: Two minutes added on.
44 mins: The ball is chipped over the top by Jorginho to Hudson-Odoi, he chests the ball down in front of him but Bonucci gets across to clear just in time.
“Just wondering, re 19:57,” emails David Hunter, “whether lemon juice is the Nice/FDA/etc approved diagnostic for questionable spicy sauce? Wouldn’t want the Guardian to be responsible for fake news or an Ivermectin type run on citrus.”
I am very much the Dr Nick Riviera for Covid.
42 mins: James drills a cross into the six-yard box but De Ligt reads the danger and turns it behind.
The Chelsea right-back takes another dangerous corner which flicks of the top of Thiago Silva’s head and away.
40 mins: Chiesa sends a corner into the box from the right, it only reaches Alex Sandro at the near post, from where the defender flicks the ball well wide.
38 mins: Hudson-Odoi pings a pass from left to right to find James, he chests it down on the edge of the box and whacks a shot across Szczesny but he dives to keep it out of the bottom corner.
Rudiger attacks a corner for Chelsea but he heads the ball wide under little pressure. He will be annoyed to have missed the target.
As predicted, Loftus-Cheek replaces Kante.
36 mins: Loftus-Cheek is being prepared to come on for Chelsea. Kante seems to have some sort of niggle.
34 mins: Kante drives into the box but his shot is blocked after the midfielder is crowded out.
Elsewhere in this group, Soren Rieks has given Malmo the lead over Zenit.
32 mins: McKennie slides in from about five yards away to tackle Ziyech, just catching the Chelsea man but referee is not interested.
Sloppy play in midfield from Juventus allows Pulisic a run at goal but he delays shooting, allowing the visitors to race back and dispossess him before any damage can be done.
30 mins: Thiago Silva is up and about, which is good news for the defender and Chelsea. He is proving to be a fantastic athlete still at the tender age of 37.
28 mins: Locatelli sends the ball over the top for Morata, who gets one-on-one with Mendy, before dinking a shot over the goalkeeper, only for Thiago Silva to race back and volley the ball off the line, injuring himself in the process. He has saved a certain goal there.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Juventus (Chalobah, 25)
Ziyech swings a corner from the left into the box, Rudiger gets a head onto it and it falls to Chalobah eight yards out, he hits it on the half-volley and it pings off Szczesny and the bar, before dropping into the net. It goes to VAR, as it it seems that the ball touched Rudiger’s arm before dropping to Chalobah. It is ruled there is no offence and the goal stands.
Updated
24 mins: Just as I publish the previous post, Hudson-Odoi gets one-on-one with Cuadrado, who bundles the Chelsea man over, earning a booking for his indiscretion. James swings the resulting free-kick from the left flank at goal, which catches Szczesny out but he just about makes up the ground to palm the shot clear.
22 mins: Hudson-Odoi drives at Cuadrado but the makeshift defender is up to the challenge. It is certainly sticking to his task for the night incredibly well thus far, especially considering that Chelsea are targeting that side of the pitch.
20 mins: Chelsea are doing their best to stretch Juventus by passing the ball side-to-side at varying speeds. The ball ends up with Rudiger on the edge of the box; he takes a touch and swings his left boot at the ball but drags his shot well wide.
Updated
18 mins: It is still very much all Chelsea as Juventus sit off and wait for their chance on the break. It is all very nice tactically, if a little dull to watch as Juventus sit permanently with 10 players behind the ball.
16 mins: Chilwell gets to the byline and drills a low cross which is almost diverted into the back of the net by a Juventus defender but Szczesny gets his body in the way and the ball is cleared.
14 mins: Ziyech goes full Renato Sanches and plays a pass to the advertising hoardings, which are blue, to be fair.
Dynamo Kyiv hosted Bayern Munich in the snow earlier.
12 mins: Juventus finally get a touch of the ball in Chelsea’s half, which they use pretty well as Cuadrado and Bentancur play a nice one-two to get the Colombian into the box where he is dispossessed, allowing the hosts to clear.
10 mins: A Ziyech corner makes it all the way to the back post where Cuadrado is positioned. The Juventus defender seems to lose his bearings and volleys it behind for another corner.
James sends in the next corner which Chalobah heads just wide.
8 mins: Cuadrado slides in to tackle Hudson-Odoi on Chelsea’s left. He could be in for a busy night.
If it’s not Hudson-Odoi running at you, it’s ... Rudiger? The Chelsea defender dribbles from the halfway to the edge of the box and wins his team a corner.
John Squared, surely.
@Will_Unwin Ah yes, good ol' John Square... A friend of mine (from the pub I where used to watch the matches in Brooklyn) had this habit to 'translate' names into English. Laurent Blanc=Larry White, Frank DeBoer=Frank The Farmer etc. Juan Cuadrado obviously becomes John Square...
— Leo Addor (@LeoAddor) November 23, 2021
6 mins: Juventus are under the pump in the early stages, even when they get the ball they give it away quickly. Not what Allegri will have wanted.
Updated
4 mins: The ball is yet to leave the Juventus half pretty much as Chelsea put pressure on the visitors.
In other news, Szczesny seems to be wearing bright orange tights. More as we get it.
2 mins: Hudson-Odoi starts brightly, attacking the Juventus midfield to break the lines. Juventus will not be keen to face a winger like Hudson-Odoi if he is in the mood.
Moments later, Kante breaks into the box from the right flank, he chips it back to Hudson-Odoi who gets a touch onto the ball and Chilwell swings his boots at the ball but makes poor contact and Chelsea end up with a corner rather than goal.
Kick-off!
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
The weather in Barcelona is poor.
𝙎𝙊𝙈-𝙃𝙄, 𝘾𝙐𝙇𝙀𝙍𝙎 !!#BarçaBenfica pic.twitter.com/9YuO7iKQcj
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 23, 2021
Just eaten some harissa chicken which was not spicy in the least, so squeezed some lemon onto my tongue to make sure my tastebuds hadn’t gone.
Great news for those in the US as Christian Pulisic battles it out with Weston McKennie.
Two USMNT key players - facing off !
— Stephen Grace (@travel_grace) November 23, 2021
Very much a crisp night in London, which is all you can ask for in late November.
I am intrigued by the idea of Chilwell up against Cuadrado, which I think could be a fun battle on that flank.
We all need a bit of Zlatan in our lives.
The good news for Chelsea is that Lukaku is back on the bench. Not they have struggled too much without him.
Wojciech Szczesny is back in town.
Roman is missing out.
Starting lineups
Chelsea (3-4-3): Mendy, Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, James, Jorginho, Kante, Chilwell, Ziyech, Pulisic, Hudson-Odoi
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Alonso, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Sarr, Barkley, Loftus-Cheek, Mount, Saul, Lukaku, Werner
Juventus (4-4-2 diamond): Szczesny, Cuadrado, Bonnuci, De Ligt, Sandro, Bentancur, McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot, Chiesa, Morata
Subs: Pinsoglio, Perin, Arthur, Dybala, Kean, Rugani, Kulusevski, De Winter
Good evening!
Chelsea need a meagre point to secure their passage to next year’s knockout stages. As holders, Thomas Tuchel will want to do far more than the bare minimum in this group after winning the trophy in June. They are top of the Premier League and will want to prove why they find themselves in such a lofty position against opposition who beat them in the reverse fixture in Turin. That defeat on 25 September was the last time Chelsea lost a match, a sign of the fine form they find themselves.
Leicester City were despatched at the weekend with such glorious ease that Tuchel will find his players extremely well-rested for this fixture at Stamford Bridge. A win by a decent margin tonight will put them in pole position to top the group, leaving Juventus to stew in second.
Juventus arrive in London off the back of three tricky games, defeating Zenit St Petersburg, Fiorentina and Lazio, which is a bloody good job as they lost the previous two outings to lesser lights Sassuolo and Verona, a sign of their inconsistency in Serie A. The Old Lady currently sit eighth in the domestic table, a desperate scenario for such a big club (also see Manchester United). In the Champions League, however, the team have been note perfect and will want to carry it on tonight to lay down a marker for the rest of the competition.
Here’s to a cracker!
Kick-off: 8pm GMT.
