A toothless performance from the Champions of Europe condemned them to a 1-0 defeat at the Allianz Stadium in the Champions League on Wednesday night. Just like their defeat on the weekend against Manchester City, Thomas Tuchel’s team was too static and predictable in the opening 45 minutes and gave Juventus nothing to worry about. Seeing this, the Chelsea manager responded with a halftime substitution of Ben Chilwell in place of Marcos Alonso.
Only after 11 seconds into the second half, Tuchel’s misery compiled as Federico Chiesa put the Old Lady in front. That shot turned out to be the only shot Juventus would have on target as it sat back and absorbed all the pressure from the Blues for the remainder of the contest. Tuchel tried everything in his armory—from changing formations to bringing on attacking players—but nothing worked. The lack of creativity and clinical finishing consigned Chelsea to two crushing losses in a row.
Let’s take a look at how the player’s faired in a disappointing performance against Juventus:
Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 6/10
The Senegalese international was a spectator for the majority of the game, other than the time he had to pick out the ball from the back of the net in the opening seconds of the second half. Not that Edouard Mendy should be blamed for conceding that goal, but seeing that this was the only shot on target from Juventus, maybe the defense should be questioned for the lack of focus in the starting seconds of the last 45 minutes.
Andreas Christensen (Right centerback): 6.5/10
Andreas Christensen, just like most of the Chelsea defenders, had a very ordinary outing. This was partly because the Italian side sat back for the majority of the game and won the match with its only shot on target. Overall, whenever involved, the Danish international didn’t seem to put a foot wrong. He was replaced by Ross Barkley in the 74′.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 6.5/10
The Brazilian veteran too had a pretty ordinary game overall. He distributed the ball well and kept the defensive line organized in the first half. In the second half, after conceding the goal, it was pretty obvious that the whole team would bomb forward except Thiago Silva. In the second half, the veteran was secure enough to stop the Italian side from scoring.
Antonio Rudiger (Left centerback): 6/10
Antonio Rudiger had an off day at the office it seemed. The German international did not have much to do in the game, but when the game came to him, Rudiger could not stop Chiesa from scoring in the opening seconds of the second half. Rudiger was also booked for dissent in the second half, so that didn’t help matters.
Trevoh Chalobah (Right centerback): 7/10
Trevoh Chalobah was not in the limelight when he came on in the 61′, but until the end of the game, the defender was as solid as a rock at the back. His introduction seemed to be a real vote of confidence from Tuchel that he can depend on the young defender, even in difficult situations.