Juventus endured a sobering night in West London as they were comprehensively beaten 4-0 by Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday.
In the fight for top spot in Group H, the Bianconeri barely laid a glove on their Premier League opponents and were fortunate to have only departed Stamford Bridge with a four-goal deficit, as they suffered their heaviest Champions League defeat in their history.
A first half Trevor Chalobah strike set Chelsea on their way, before Thomas Tuchel’s side motored clear after the break through a wonderful Reece James volley, a Callum Hudson-Odoi goal to finish off a team move, and Timo Werner’s stoppage time tap in.
Whilst Juventus have already secured qualification into the knockout stages, the humbling defeat ought to serve a stark warning to those who have urged the Bianconeri to focus on the Champions League this season.
Chelsea ran riot and Massimiliano Allegri’s side barely had a kick in the Blues’ half in the second period, with a toothless attack looking particularly blunt in the absence of Paulo Dybala. The Argentina international came on in the second half but the game was gone, and he barely made an impact.
The Premier League leaders have enjoyed an impressive season under Tuchel and have the potential to pick any team in Europe apart in their current form, but this cannot mask the clear deficiencies in the Juventus ranks.
Allegri’s homecoming has been underwhelming to say the least, with his unbeaten start in the Champions League the only saving grace after mixed form in Serie A that has left them off the pace in eighth and 11 points off Napoli.
The six-time Scudetto winner was as guilty as his lacklustre team for defeat in London though, with the coach making poor tactical decisions and his rigid 4-4-2 being torn apart by Chelsea’s wing-backs, particularly James.
Similarly, his flat midfield could not keep up with the fluid movement of Hakim Ziyech, Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, as well as N’Golo Kante before his first half substitution.
Juventus were hampered further by individual mistakes that are becoming alarmingly regular, exemplified by Weston McKennie’s dreadful attempt to clear the ball in stoppage time to allow Werner to score.
The Bianconeri of Allegri’s first spell simply would not have allowed such basic errors to happen and the former AC Milan coach may be wondering what he has walked back into. Indeed, Tuesday’s humiliation may be proof if it was ever needed that Juventus are slipping further and further from the level of Europe’s elite contenders.
