Chelsea vs Juventus: Chelsea defeats Juventus 4-0 to reach Champions League last 16

European champion Chelsea took control from the onset in a thumping 4-0 victory over Juventus to top Champions League Group H and book its place in the knockout stage.

Published : Nov 24, 2021 07:39 IST , LONDON

Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi celebrates after scoring the third goal during the 4-0 Champions League win over Juventus on Tuesday.
Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi celebrates after scoring the third goal during the 4-0 Champions League win over Juventus on Tuesday.
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Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi celebrates after scoring the third goal during the 4-0 Champions League win over Juventus on Tuesday.

Chelsea claimed a thumping 4-0 victory over Juventus thanks to goals from home-grown trio Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi and a fourth by Timo Werner to top Champions League Group H and cruise into the knockout stage.

European champion Chelsea took control from the outset and never relaxed as it booked its place in the last 16.

Defender Chalobah, 22, smacked the ball into the net past the flailing arms of Wojciech Szczesny in the 25th minute after centre back Toni Rudiger set him up from a Hakim Ziyech corner.

A VAR check dismissed calls for handball against Rudiger when replays showed the ball hit his hand in front of his chest.

James, 21, showed superb technique to angle a shot into the left hand corner of the goal in the 55th and barely three minutes later, 21-year-old Hudson-Odoi scored from a layoff by another Academy graduate Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Juventus had already qualified for the knockout stage but the result dropped it to second place in the group, level with Chelsea on 12 points, with one round of fixtures to play.

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Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel was full of praise for his young scorers.

"It’s their biggest dream to perform at Stamford Bridge, to perform in blue, to be part of a strong Chelsea team," the German said. "I strongly believe this is a huge part of the success that we have this mix."

Werner put the icing on the cake before the final whistle by sending the ball home from a Ziyech cross.

Chelsea, beaten 1-0 in Turin in September, made the Italians look ordinary, running them ragged with intricate passing movements and producing 20 shots on goal to Juve's eight.

Former Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata had the visitors' best chance when he chipped the ball over advancing Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy in the 28th minute, but 37-year-old defender Thiago Silva raced back to superbly hook the ball off the line.

Mendy pulled off a save of his own late in the second half, tipping the ball over the bar from a Weston McKennie shot.

Szczesny saved Juventus from utter humiliation with a series of fine stops, pushing the ball round the post from efforts by Hudson-Odoi and James as well as keeping out Ziyech and Ben Chilwell.

The one downside for the host was an injury to wing-back Chilwell, who appeared to twist his knee and was helped off the pitch.

Zenit qualifies for Europa League following draw with Malmo

A last-gasp penalty by Yaroslav Rakitskiy earned 10-man Zenit St Petersburg a 1-1 draw at Malmo FF in their Group H clash ensuring that the Russians will play in the Europa League in the New Year.

Danish midfielder Soren Rieks netted Malmo's first goal of the group stage in the 28th minute, combining well with Veljko Birmancevic before firing a shot low to the keeper's left to give his side the lead.

Zenit missed a gilt-edged chance to equalise from the penalty spot early in the second half, and the visitors also had Dmitri Chistyakov sent off for a second yellow card in the 86th minute.

The drama was not over though and Rieks was adjudged to have fouled Artem Dzubya in the box in second-half stoppage time, with Rakitskiy making no mistake from the spot.

The result ensured Zenit, who have four points, cannot finish lower than third in the group behind Chelsea and Juventus, both with 12 points. Malmo has one point but lost away to Zenit and has a much poorer goal difference.

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