Champions League group stage recap: Juventus more at home on European stage
Friday, January 14, 2022
Article summary
Contrasting results against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League group stage highlighted the Bianconeri's inconsistency this season.
Article top media content
Article body
There was only one blot – the 4-0 defeat at Chelsea – in an otherwise perfect UEFA Champions League group stage for Massimiliano Allegri's team, who arguably played better in Europe than in Serie A in the first half of the season.
Campaign so far
Group H winners: W5 D0 L1 F10 A6
Top scorer: Paulo Dybala (3)
14/09: Malmö 0-3 Juventus (Alex Sandro 23, Dybala 45pen, Morata 45+1)
29/09: Juventus 1-0 Chelsea (Chiesa 46)
20/10: Zenit 0-1 Juventus (Kulusevski 86)
02/11: Juventus 4-2 Zenit (Dybala 11 58pen, Chiesa 73, Morata 82; Bonucci 26og, Azmoun 90+2)
23/11: Chelsea 4-0 Juventus (Chalobah 25, James 56, Hudson-Odoi 58, Werner 90+5)
08/12: Juventus 1-0 Malmö (Kean 18)
Campaign in ten words: Blend of impressive veterans and youngsters with potential; lacking consistency.
UEFA.com reporter's view
Allegri rejoined Juventus in May but he is still searching for the magic dust that carried the team to two finals during his first spell. Very inconsistent in Serie A, Juve were impressive with four wins in as many games to start their European campaign but the 4-0 loss at Chelsea on Matchday 5 brought the Bianconeri down to earth.
What we've learned
Replacing the number of goals a certain Cristiano Ronaldo was bringing to Juventus needed a significant team effort. The forwards have done the job partially but midfielders struggled to play their part in the group stage.
Fantasy star performers
Alex Sandro – 34 points
Leonardo Bonucci – 34 points
Paulo Dybala – 27 points
Squad changes
In: Luca Pellegrini, Dušan Vlahović, Denis Zakaria
Out: Rodrigo Bentancur, Dejan Kulusevski, Aaron Ramsey
Clubs could register a maximum of three new eligible players prior to the knockout stage. Since 2018/19, it no longer matters whether those players have already played in the competition for another club, even for another club still in the competition.
Key stats
• Federico Chiesa scored in a fourth consecutive Champions League start when he struck the winner against Chelsea, becoming the first Juve player to achieve such a feat since Alessandro Del Piero 14 years earlier.
• The 4-0 defeat against Chelsea was Juventus' heaviest in the competition since the 7-0 reverse against Wiener Sport-Club in the preliminary round of the 1958/59 season.
• Defender Daniele Rugani made only three appearances, for a total of 99 minutes, in the group stage but he tops the charts for passing accuracy in the entire competition with 98.3%.
