Deflected goals from Fabio Quagliarella and Arturo Vidal and an injury-time finish from Sebastian Giovinco saw the hosts leave the defending champions needing to beat FC Nordsjaelland, and for Shakhtar Donetsk to beat the Italians in their final match.
It was Chelsea’s heaviest Champions League defeat in this century, and it was not one of their better performances as they looked blunt at both ends of the pitch.
They paid the price for a negative outlook, starting with no recognised striker as Fernando Torres was dropped to the bench, while Juve were deserved winners despite the fortunate nature of their goals.
A fairly manic first half played out as expected, with Chelsea’s decision to employ a 4-6-0 formation seeing them sit deep and look for the counter attack as Juventus – in greater need of the win – launched waves of attacks, particularly through Kwadwo Asamoah and Mirko Vucinic on the left.
While the Bianconeri put more pressure on Petr Cech than Chelsea did on Gianluigi Buffon, there were chances for both sides as the Blues used the breaks to good effect.
Cech made a fantastic early save t
o
deny Stephane Lichtsteiner, turning his toe-poked finish on to the
post, while soon afterwards Eden Hazard – Chelsea’s most advanced player
– somehow put wide after a wonderful dribble from Oscar, who started
the move clearing a corner.Cech was again forced into action, making a fine stop from Claudio Marchisio after a delightful short corner routine, while another Oscar-led counter saw Leonardo Bonucci block his goal-bound finish.
Juve had been making most of the running though, so their opening goal was deserved – it was equally fortuitous though, as Andrea Pirlo’s daisy cutter looked set for the arms of Cech, who was beaten by a wicked deflection off Quagliarella.
In keeping with the pattern of the match thus far, Juve nearly doubled their lead – Ashley Cole brilliantly clearing off the line from Lichtsteiner – while from the resultant counter attack Juan Mata was denied by a fine Buffon stop after Hazard put the Spaniard one-on-one.
The second half saw Chelsea appear more positive, but Juve were still finding the better chances as Vucinic had a penalty appeal waved away after a slight tug from Gary Cahill, while Pirlo’s long-range shot was tipped behind by Cech.
And once group-topping Shakhtar Donetsk had gone ahead in Denmark, Chelsea knew they really needed to avoid defeat in order to have some level of control over their fate.
The introduction of Victor Moses made sense, but Azpilicueta had given the Blues a sense of solidity on their right – within seconds, it was 2-0, as Asamoah exploited the space to set up Vidal, who rifled a low finish through Cech via another deflection, off Ramires this time.
As Chelsea committed men forward – bringing on Torres to no avail – Juve were able to pick them off on the counter, nearly adding a third through Vucinic before sub Giovinco struck, ramming the ball into an empty net in injury time after Cech went walkabout.
A draw in Ukraine will be enough for Juve, while only a win against the Danes will do for Chelsea. The latter seems more than likely, but with Shakhtar already through after winning in Copenhagen, Roberto Di Matteo’s chances of survival in Europe and indeed his job are quite slim.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Arturo Vidal, Juventus: A goal and an assist for the industrious Chilean, although several of his team-mates – particularly Leonardo Bonucci and Kwadwo Asamoah – deserve high praise for a superb collective performance.
PLAYER RATINGS
JUVENTUS: Buffon 6, Barzagli 6, Bonucci 8, Chiellini 7, Lichtsteiner 7, Vidal 8, Pirlo 7, Marchisio 7, Asamoah 8, Quagliarella 7, Vucinic 7. Subs: Caceres 7, Pogba N/A, Giovinco 7
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Ivanovic 6, Luiz 5, Cahill 5, Cole 6, Mikel 6, Ramires 6, Azpilicueta 6, Oscar 6, Mata 5, Hazard 5. Subs: Torres 6, Moses 6
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