Overview

For the third consecutive game, Chelsea had arguably their best offensive performance of the season in a scintillating 4-0 win against Juventus in the Champions League group stage last Tuesday. The team could have added a goal or two to an already lopsided scoreline, had we ramped up tempo — there was a clear slowing down at times, perhaps to conserve energy.

Still, there is not much that Chelsea could have done better in this game — it was an almost perfect game in terms of execution and tactics. Every player had a decent performance at minimum and when that happens, a big performance is almost always guaranteed.

That said, there is a dampener to the overall great mood. Ben Chilwell’s injury is a major blow to the team’s balance going forward, and Thomas Tuchel will have to be at his best to compensate for his absence. With absolutely no disrespect meant to Marcos Alonso, the drop-off from our first-choice left wing-back to our second-choice is arguably the second biggest in our squad, only behind the goalkeeping position.

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Match statistics

Stats are from fbref and wyscout.

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Individual ratings

Thomas Tuchel

Tuchel is at his best when he goes up against other world-class managers, and this game was no different. Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri joins an illustrious list of managers — that includes Pep Guardiola, Jürgen Klopp, Zinedine Zidane and others — in being comprehensively outdone by Tuchel in a big game.

The game also marked the first time Chelsea have kept five consecutive home clean sheets in the Champions League, a truly remarkable achievement considering our defensive quality in the past.

As an aside, Tuchel’s coaching skills will be tested to its maximum limits in the coming weeks. The team does not have many fit midfielders or left wing-backs available, and it will be very interesting to see what Tuchel — perhaps the best coach we have ever had tactically — has in store.

RATING: 10

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Édouard Mendy — GK

Made a small misjudgement against former Chelsea striker Álvaro Morata, but was not tested much otherwise.

RATING: 6.5

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Reece James — RWB

Continued his supernova form with yet another blistering finish. More encouragingly, Reece is doing a lot of heavy lifting in build-up along with his end product, catapulting himself into the upper echelons of creative defenders as a result.

Stats of note
1 goal
5 shots - 1st
7 progressive carries - 1st
4 aerial duels won (7 contested) - 1st
6 shot-creating actions - T-1st
3 key passes - T-1st
4 touches in box - T-1st
3 carries into final third - T-1st
2 carries into box - T-1st
19 pressures - 2nd
10 loose-ball recoveries - 2nd

RATING: 9

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Trevoh Chalobah — RCB

Scored an awesome goal to open the scoring, but could have done better with build-up passing.

Stats of note
1 goal
2 clearances - 2nd
3 interceptions - 3rd
9 loose-ball recoveries - T-3rd

RATING: 7.5

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Thiago Silva — CB

Summarizing Silva’s performances in a few lines and stats is arguably the hardest part of every post-match review. This was another great performance where the stat-sheet comes nowhere near reflecting his level on the pitch. We are very lucky to have him at the club (ed.note: just extend this man’s contract already!)

Stats of note
3 clearances - T-1st
2 aerial duels won (2 contested) - T-2nd
9 loose-ball recoveries - T-3rd

RATING: 8.5

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Antonio Rüdiger — LCB

Outstanding on the ball, decisive off it — in other words, just a standard showing from the world-class German defender. While it might sound hyperbolic to some, we have the two best defenders in the world this season.

Stats of note
9 passes into final third - 1st
8 progressive passes - 1st
3 clearances - T-1st
3 carries into final third - T-1st
4 interceptions - 2nd
2 aerial duels won (6 contested) - T-2nd

RATING: 9

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Ben Chilwell — LWB

Looked threatening in the final third and could have better stats on another game with better execution. He is going to be a massive miss for us going forward — here’s wishing him a speedy and complete recovery.

Stats of note
3 shots - 3rd
14 pressures - 3rd

RATING: 7

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N’Golo Kanté — RCM

Looked razor-sharp for the first 30 minutes before suffering another frustrating injury. Kanté is a world-class player and while the first rule when discussing world-class players is to never rule them out, his absences are becoming too frequent to simply be brushed away. It is imperative we draft succession plans while he is still the world’s best midfielder.

Stats of note
2 carries into box - T-1st

RATING: N/A

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Jorginho — LCM

Had a terrific game defensively, sniffing danger and staying two steps ahead of Juventus’ midfielders. Needs to be wrapped in cotton wool going forward due to the injuries suffered by Kante and Mateo Kovacic.

Stats of note
7 interceptions - 1st
3 carries into final third - T-1st
6 progressive carries - 2nd
6 passes into final third - T-2nd
3 tackles - 3rd
4 progressive passes - T-3rd
9 loose-ball recoveries - T-3rd

RATING: 9

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Hakim Ziyech — RW/R-AM

Had an awesome game, somewhat resembling the ball-progression machine that lit up Amsterdam on a weekly basis. Although his final ball could have been (even) better, this performance was a big improvement on his recent ones.

Even his defensive work was top notch!

Stats of note
1 assist
2 passes into box - 1st
5 tackles - 1st
21 pressures - 1st
8 progressive passes received - 1st
13 loose-ball recoveries - 1st
6 shot-creating actions - T-1st
3 key passes - T-1st
4 touches in box - T-1st
3 carries into final third - T-1st
7 progressive passes - 2nd
6 passes into final third - T-2nd

RATING: 8.5

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Christian Pulisic – CF

Struggled to get into the game, although that was not really his fault as he was going up against a team with four dogged midfielders and two centre-backs of the highest calibre in a position not natural to him. Still there were plenty of signs as to why this experiment deserves further chances, and clear areas to improve on.

Stats of note
2 aerial duels won (2 contested) - T-2nd
3 progressive passes received - T-3rd

RATING: 6

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Callum Hudson-Odoi – LW/L-AM

While the goal will naturally receive all the attention, his maturity in ball-progression was the best aspect of his performance. CHO simply tormented Juventus’ right-flank during his time on the pitch. However, he was unable to combine this ball-progression with a good final ball.

He has flashed promise in different aspects in different games without really putting them altogether over 90 minutes. The clear next step for him is to do exactly that. His aim must be to combine the ball-progression from this game with the final-ball from the Burnley game.

Stats of note
1 goal
4 touches in box - T-1st
4 shots - 2nd
4 shot-creating actions - 2nd
4 tackles - 2nd
7 progressive passes received - 2nd
5 progressive carries - 3rd
4 progressive passes - T-3rd

RATING: 7.5

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Substitutes

Ruben Loftus-Cheek (37th minute) – Looked supremely comfortable in his time on the pitch, and capped it off with an outstanding assist.

Stats of note
1 assist
2 successful dribbles (2 attempted) - T-1st
3 progressive passes received - T-3rd

RATING: 7.5

Cesar Azpilicueta (71st minute) – Replaced the injured Chilwell and did a solid job.

Timo Werner (71st minute) – Got a much needed goal, one that will hopefully restore his confidence.

Stats of note

1 goal
2 successful dribbles (3 attempted) - T-1st

Mason Mount (76th minute) – Looked some way short of his best.

Saul Ñíguez (76th minute) – Nothing of note. An unfortunate summary of his Chelsea spell thus far.