Wednesday 19th
September:
Chelsea 2 – 2 Juventus
A typically defensive
and organised performance from the Italian league leaders saw Chelsea struggle
to establish any attacking threat in the final third for the first half hour.
That was until a magical 2 minutes for Brazilian wonder-kid Oscar; the 21 year
old wearing the infamous number 11 shirt would have made Drogba proud with his
second strike finding the top corner after gloriously turning Pirlo. Oscar then
used his adrenalin to cover every inch of the playing surface – further
repaying RDM for the decision to award him his first start in Chelsea blue. The
buzzing atmosphere at the Bridge was over too soon as Juventus fired themselves
back into the game 7 minutes before halftime. The second half was a mixture of
Juventus possession littered with Chelsea mistakes and the Italian side
deservedly equalised 10 minutes from time. Although Vucinic was kept quiet by
JT, Juventus’ number 3 Chiellini had an outstanding defensive performance
playing as the left third of a back 3 formation. His pace and strength saw off
the likes of Torres and Hazard on countless occasions. It seemed Chelsea’s
midfield was horribly outbalanced when Mata replaced the yellow-carded Ramires,
perhaps a Champions League debut for Moses could have parted the sea of
Juventus defence. The same old problem, a lack of width, was evident throughout
the 90 minutes. Winning home games is essential when trying to qualify out of a
Champions League group. However, Chelsea fans will be all too familiar with the
club making it as hard as possible for themselves. Can Chelsea be the first
team to retain their European crown? It’s hard to imagine from tonight’s
performance.
Juventus started the summer with some audacious bids for
Robin Van Persie, yet ended up signing Nicklas Bendtner on loan. I imagine the
fans were ecstatic with that transfer coup. Respect was lost for the Racing
Post and Tony Cascarino who tipped Arsenal outcast Bendtner to be Juventus’ top
Champions League goal scorer at 7/2. The Dane will not usually start before
Vucinic and isn’t exactly a prolific hit man even if an opportunity arises.
Benfica must have let a couple of accumulators down with a goalless draw
against Celtic. The Bhoys didn’t achieve a shot on target but their European
home record speaks for itself, However Barcelona will inevitably put that to
the test again this season. Atletico Madrid looked too hot for opposition yet
again in the Europa League on Thursday night and have been smashed into 9/1 for
a tournament they have made their own in recent years. Yet football punters beware
that betting for the Europa League outright is pointless until the Champions
League teams get drawn in after the group stages.
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