The last time Chelsea embarked on the defence of the Champions League title, they made history. An unwanted history. It turned out to be the briefest attempt to retain the title since the modern format of the European Cup was introduced. Chelsea went out in the group stage, their exit all but secured by a 3-0 walloping at the Juventus stadium.
Nine years on, Thomas Tuchel’s champions go to the same venue looking a good deal more resilient than Roberto Di Matteo’s 2012 title-holders. But their manager was still warning on Tuesday that no visitor to Juventus can swagger into Turin assuming any privileges of status, whatever Juve’s rocky recent form suggests.
“Yes, they have had some troubles, a rough start, but they are reliable, a proud club” said Tuchel, who revealed some troubles of his own: Chelsea will be without N’Golo Kante, who has tested positive for Covid-19, and the injured Mason Mount, Reece James and Christian Pulisic.
Juventus won at home on Sunday for the first time in three attempts in what has been a wretched beginning of the season. It was a victory, 3-2 against Sampdoria which barely disguised ongoing flaws and had some damaging fallout.
Paulo Dybala, who had opened the scoring with a graceful volley, limped off the field midway through the first half, in tears. His muscle injury rules him out against Chelsea. Manager Max Allegri’s plans to find a way past Tuchel’s resolute defence were further thwarted when Alvaro Morata, the former Chelsea centre-forward, withdrew, clutching his thigh. Morata will not play again until the second half of October.
Juventus leaked two goals as well, and have now gone 20 Serie A matches without a clean sheet, a startling statistic for a club whose domestic reputation over the last decade has been in large part built on an inviolable, rugged defence.
The poor recent record pains the long-serving warriors, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci more than anybody. That pair, outstanding contributors to Italy’s triumph at Euro 2020 in the summer, are still the leaders of Juventus, deep into their 30s.
The choice of who plays behind Bonucci and Chiellini in what may well be a back three including Matthijs de Ligt is one of several vexing issues for Allegri. He dropped Wojciech Szczesny, his senior goalkeeper, against Sampdoria after the Pole had made some high-profile errors.
Mattia Perin, promoted in Szczesny’s place, can scarcely be blamed for the two Sampdoria goals, but the bad habits at the back continued. Six league games into the campaign, Juventus have shed 10 goals, and sit 10th in Serie A.
Chelsea 1 Zenit 0: player ratings
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Edouard Mendy 6 - Dealt comfortably with the only shot he faced in the first half and had to be brave in the second, taking a blow to the ribs from Dzyuba challenging for the ball inside the six yard box. Getty Images -
Cesar Azpilicueta 7 - The captain stepped up with the game level and delivered an inch-perfect cross towards Romelu Lukaku to give Blues into the lead. AFP -
Andreas Christensen 6 - Had to be alert to the movement of Azmoun but handled the occasion well. AFP -
Antonio Rudiger 8 - Almost scored an early contender for goal of the season with a marauding run from his own half that finished with a strike just wide of the post. AP Photo -
Reece James 7 - Stopped Zenit’s most dangerous chance of the first half after Azmoun flicked on into space inside the box. A strong display in both attack and defence. Getty Images -
Marcos Alonso 7 - Began to find space on the flanks more in the second half with Thomas Tuchel instructing his defenders to get higher up the pitch. Getty Images -
Mateo Kovacic 8 - Threaded some good passes through while enjoying control of the midfield for large parts of the game. The Croatia star rarely put a foot wrong tonight, completing over 97% of his passes with from 117 touches. Getty Images -
Jorginho 7 - A typical Jorginho performance as the Italian kept things ticking at the heart of the Chelsea midfield. A calm presence on the ball. EPA -
Hakim Ziyech 7 - Bright before being replaced and was positive on the ball. It was a matter of missing end-product for the Chelsea playmaker tonight. Getty Images -
Mason Mount 6 - Gave away possession cheaply on some occasions but worked hard even when Chelsea looked comfortable with the lead. Delivered some passes which asked questions of the Zenit defence. EPA -
Romelu Lukaku 7 - Isolated for the majority of the game but the in-form star only needed a half-chance, dispatching his header in lethal fashion. The Belgium international was frustrated not to score a second but he probably should have looked to find the pass with two Chelsea players running in at the back post. EPA -
SUB: Kai Havertz (Ziyech, 63) 7 - Provided more energy and was able to thread balls through to Lukaku. Looked to get Chelsea on the front foot with direct running at players. Getty Images -
SUB: Thiago Silva (Azpilicueta 83) - Replaced Azpilicueta in a like-for-like change.at the back. Getty Images -
SUB: Ben Chilwell (Alonso 83) - On for his first appearance of the season. Getty Images -
SUB: Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Mount 90+3) - On for the final minutes of the game. Reuters -
ZENIT RATINGS: Stanislav Kritsyuk 6 - Couldn’t do much about the header that was hit with pace into the back of the net. Getty Images -
Douglas Santos 7 - A goal-saving tackle at the end of the game stopped Romelu Lukaku from doubling his shares. A good game overall from the left-back. AFP -
Yaroslav Rakitskiy 8 - Looked to release players with the long ball and had the first shot on target of the game in the 38th minute. An overall impressive game from the Ukraine international who was a standout performer in defence too. Reuters -
Dmitri Chistyakov 6 - Stood up well to attacks and was tight Chelsea’s dangerman in Romelu Lukaku. Zenit’s didn’t concede too many opportunities tonight but couldn’t seem to get anything going at the other end. Getty Images -
Aleksey Sutormin 6 - Defended well against attacks down Chelsea’s left flank. Could have done a little bit more going forward to support Malcom. AFP -
Daler Kuzyaev 6 - Struggled at times to transition the ball from the midfield into attacking areas. Zenit’s midfield looked to fall apart in the second half. AFP -
Wilmar Barrios 7 - Read the game well in moments but occasional sloppiness allowed Chelsea to enjoy long spells of possession. Getty Images -
Wendel 6 - Looked one of the more assured players in the midfield in what was a positive first-half display from Zenit. It was a different story in the second half though with Chelsea taking much more control over the game. EPA -
Claudinho 6 - Wasteful in possession at times and almost got his side in trouble from trying to dribble in dangerous areas. Regained possession for Zenit on a number of occasions with good defensive plays. AFP -
Sardar Azmoun 7 - Worked hard for few chances. Close to getting a shot off inside the box before Rudiger intervened on the hour-mark. Created Zenit’s best chance of the game with a cutback that Dzyuba failed to make proper contact with. Getty Images -
Malcom 6 - Worked hard up the right-flank but cut a frustrated figure, often left to dribble in situations where he was outnumbered by Chelsea defenders. Replaced in the 75th minute. Reuters -
SUB: Artem Dzyuba (Malcolm 75) - Could have been sharper to a ball across the box that would have been converted had he made proper contact. Zenit’s best chance of the game. Reuters -
SUB: Aleksandr Erokhin (Wendel 75) - On for Wendel who had worked hard in a difficult midfield battle. Getty Images -
SUB: Kirill Kravtsov (Kuzyaev 82) - Did little when introduced to turn the tide of the game. Getty Images -
SUBS: Andrey Mostovoy (Claudinho 88) - Introduced for Claudinho but couldn’t help get an equaliser. Danil Krugovoi (Rakitskyi 88) - On for the final moments of the game. EPA
They finished fourth last season, only scraping into the Champions League spots on the last day, and waving goodbye to a record-breaking streak of nine successive titles, and, inevitably, to their novice coach, Andrea Pirlo. Allegri’s return to the job two summers after he was sacked, having just guided Juve to the top of the table for the fifth time, is an acknowledgement that the club have made poor executive decisions.
Some believe signing Cristiano Ronaldo for over €100m in 2018 was among them. The fee, coupled with the player’s huge salary, made Ronaldo a financial risk. Given that Juventus bought him from Real Madrid with the specific target of a Champions League triumph, CR7 also fell short of being the full Midas-touch magician Juve had hoped he would be.
But he was Juventus’s major source of goals for his three seasons in Italy. There were 36 Ronaldo goals last season, and he outscored everybody, including Romelu Lukaku - then of champions Inter, now of Chelsea - in Serie A. “It is no secret that any team without Cristiano will, in some parts of the game, be weaker,” said Tuchel. “But they have a deep squad.”
How deep will be examined on Wednesday. Take away Ronaldo, and Morata and Dybala - both of who scored in Juve’s 3-0 opening group phase win at Malmo - and Allegri is obliged to field a makeshift attack.
He hopes Federico Chiesa, attacking from wide positions, can provide some of the electricity he gave to Italy during the summer, and that Moise Kean, who rejoined Juventus in the summer, can test Chelsea’s back three with his acceleration and threat in the air.
Tuchel expects the stand-ins to up their game. Being European champions means “there is a higher value and motivation to play against us,” he said. “We have to accept this.”
