Forward Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz found themselves at the end of two glorious chances each late in the second half but failed to convert either of those as Chelsea were beaten 1-0 on road by Juventus, thanks to an early second-half goal from Federico Chiesa. 

At the Allianz Arena, Turin, while Chelsea enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, the London side failed to capitalise on the chances and Juventus took Thomas Tuchel’s men by surprise early in the second half. 

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Juventus failed to register even a single shot on target in the first half and it looked it was only a matter of minutes before Chelsea would find the back of the net. However, as the two teams returned for the restart, Chelsea’s defence was caught napping as in just five passes the London club were left wide open and Chiesa smashed home a layoff from Federico Bernardeschi within 10 seconds of the second half. Chiesa beat defender Antonio Rudiger to score from a difficult angle.

Bernardeschi nearly made it 2-0 when he tripped just as he was about to redirect a cross from Juan Cuadrado.

It wasn’t until the 75th minute that a decent cross found its way to Lukaku, who Chelsea bought for a club-record $135 million in August. But the Belgium striker’s ensuing header went well wide.

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Lukaku had a close chance in the 83rd but again missed the target.

Juventus took control of Group H with a full six points. Chelsea and Zenit St. Petersburg have three points each and Malmo has zero.

Meanwhile, Juventus’ perfect start in Europe contrasts sharply with Bianconeri’s struggles in Serie A, where they have won just two of six matches.

It marked a second consecutive defeat for Chelsea, who were beaten 1-0 at home by Manchester City on Saturday.

Chelsea was without the injured Reece James, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic; while midfielder N’Golo Kante missed the trip after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Juventus also had injury concerns with Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata both out.

But Chiesa and Bernardeschi, key members of Italy’s run to the European Championship title, made sure they weren’t missed.

With inputs from the Associated Press