Chelsea threw away a two goal lead against Juventus tonight at Stamford Bridge in their first Champions League game of the season. Here are some quick thoughts on the game:
- Disappointed result and performance tonight by Chelsea. They are not the kind of side that I expect to throw away two-goal leads, especially at home. The draw means that Chelsea will probably now have to go to Turin and get a result if they are to win the group, which will not be an easy task.
- I thought Roberto Di Matteo got out coached tonight. Even in the first half it was apparent that Juventus had too much room and time in the middle of the park and he never made an adjustment. Then with the score 2-1 with 15 minutes to go, he should have shut up shop and seen the game out. Bad night for the Chelsea boss.
- Bad night also for John Terry and Mikel. Mikel, who I don’t think is good enough for Chelsea, casually gave the ball away for Juve’s second goal and then Terry foolishly tried to play Quagliarella offside.
- While Chelsea brought in some really good players this summer, the club’s inability to bring in another striker is really hurting the club now. Chelsea only had one striker in their 18-man squad tonight as Sturridge is injured. How can you play a Champions League game with one striker (Torres) in the squad? It gave Di Matteo no options to change the team around, especially of Chelsea had been trailing. Liverpool get lambasted in the English media for doing the exact same thing, but nobody mentions that Chelsea have the exact same problem.
- In case you did not notice, Chelsea are now winless in their last three games. Any Chelsea fans starting to feel a little worried at gone else starting to feel a little worried at how the team is playing?
- On the positive side, I thought Oscar was terrific tonight. He scored two great goals, and that second one was world class. Plus I was impressed with the work he did defensively to shut down Pirlo.
What did you think of the game and Chelsea’s performance tonight?
