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Chelsea turned the tables around in Champions League Group H in style as they outclassed Juventus in a dominant 4-0 win at home on Tuesday night.
Goals from Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Timo Werner ensured it would be a long trip back to Turin for Massimiliano Allegri's men. In Thomas Tuchel's 50th game in charge of the club, the holders produced a befitting performance to move top of the table.
Coming off a 3-0 win over Leicester City in the Premier League last weekend, Chelsea were at their ruthless and attacking best against Juventus. The Premier League leaders put the Bianconeri to the sword in the second half, after leading by a solitary strike at half-time.
However, just when Juventus harboured hopes of a comeback, Chelsea ended the game as a contest with an inspired display at both ends. With many eventful moments during the game to discuss, here's a look at the top five talking points from the game at Stamford Bridge:
#5 Chelsea make their intentions clear in the first half
With nothing to lose, Juventus were on the back foot right from kick-off. But Chelsea, being the renewed attacking force they have been this season under Tuchel, continued to be dominant in the final third.
Ben Chilwell missed a sitter from close range in the early moments of the game. But it didn't take long for his defensive compatriot, Trevoh Chalobah, to open the scoring from a corner.
Juventus looked clinical in their transition from the defensive third to Chelsea's half. But their failure to find either Alvaro Morata or Federico Chiesa would prove to be their undoing.
Nevertheless, Morata, who was welcomed to Stamford Bridge with plenty of unpleasantries, thought he opened the scoring for Juventus. He had chipped Edouard Mendy, but Thiago Silva saved the blushes for the Londoners, with a brilliant goalline clearance.
Overall, Juventus' game-plan was clearly not fruitful. Their attempts to fend off the Chelsea attack and break on the counter proved to be unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Chelsea scored their much-needed early goal to lay down the gauntlet to the visitors.
#4 Juventus fail to dominate midfield
It was not until the 70th minute when Arthur came on that Juventus started controlling the midfield. But it was too late to salvage their trip to London, as Chelsea were already three goals to the good.
Most of the first 45 minutes saw Juventus bypass their midfield to send high crosses for Alvaro Morata. Arguably, with Thiago Silva in charge at the back, it was not a clever idea for Massimiliano Allegri's side.
With N'Golo Kante picking up a knock in the first quarter of the game, Tuchel had to make an early change. Juventus were expected to boss the midfield now. But the cool and composed duo of Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek never let the visitors assert their ascendancy through the middle.
Juventus have many things to ponder as they return to Turin wondering what might have been had they controlled the midfield better.
#3 Chelsea's back-three and wing-backs still the key to their supremacy
Despite injuries to Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, Chelsea's goals haven't stopped. They have had a new goalscorer almost every weekend. With 17 different goalscorers already this season, Chelsea have showcased the remarkable quality and versatility.
A lot of that has come about due to the involvement of the back three and the wing-backs in offensive plays. That aspect of Chelsea was on full display, as two of their three goals on the night came from a centre-back and a wing-back.
With Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah getting on the scoresheet, Ben Chilwell and Antonio Rudiger also came close with set-pieces in the first half. The high-flying role for James and Chilwell seems to have instilled a different level of confidence in both the Englishmen.
Chelsea are now a team that can score goals from every kind of play or situation during a game. And the goals can come from anywhere on the pitch, so the goalscoring return of Werner was a welcome sight.
#2 Juventus' stuttering start to the season continues
Juventus have struggled in Serie A under the returning Massimiliano Allegri, sitting a lowly eighth after 13 games. It's one of their worst starts to a Serie A campaign in six decades.
However, they enjoyed much better fortunes in the Champions League. They won their first four games, including against Chelsea at home, to qualify for the knockouts.
However, the Bianconeri received a rude jolt on their visit to Stamford Bridge. Coming into this game, Juventus had scored nine and conceded just two. Despite their promising returns in Europe this season, Allegri's men conceded four unanswered goals on the night after ending the first half only a goal down. They left the Bridge ceding top spot in the group and seeing their significant goal difference get whittled down to only three.
Juventus were plain terrible at the back. Especially during Callum Hudson-Odoi's goal at the hour-mark, when Ruben Loftus-Cheek danced his way through seven Juventus players to serve the goal on a platter for his former academy teammate. There was no respite, as the returning Timo Werner scored from a tap-in after coming on for the final 15 minutes.
With Juventus expected to finish second now, Massimiliano Allegri will hope to address his team's issues ahead of the knockouts.
#1 Victory comes at a price for the reigning champions
Chelsea might just have done enough to secure the coveted top spot in their Champions League group. But they had to pay a huge price for the same. The Blues lost two of their key men to injuries that might adversely affect them in their Premier League title challenge, which resumes this weekend.
While N'Golo Kante walked off with a hamstring injury early in the game, Ben Chilwell also endured a horrific injury. The England international had a nasty fall after colliding with his Juventus counterpart midway through the pitch. The ex-Leicester Cityman was seen grimacing in pain, and could be out for a while.
With Chelsea set to face Manchester United this Sunday, losing Kante and Chilwell to mid-term injuries couldn't have happened at a more inopportune time. Liverpool and Manchester City are breathing down Chelsea's necks, so Thomas Tuchel will need to rejig his tactics to keep his team ahead of the competition.
