Chelsea 2 Juventus 2
Fabio Quagliarella’s late equaliser snatched a draw for Juventus, who came back from 2-0 down at Stamford Bridge.
Two goals in as many minutes by Oscar had put holders Chelsea in a commanding position in their opening Champions League group match.
Oscar, making his first start for the Blues, opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark with a 25-yard shot which took a deflection off Juve’s Leonardo Bonucci.
But there was nothing fortuitous about the Brazilian’s superb second goal.
Oscar received Ashley Cole’s pass on the edge of the box and instantly flicked the ball away from two defenders with an audacious backheel before curling a breathtaking shot into the top corner.
The goal was reminiscent of Gianfranco Zola’s outrageous turn and finish in the 1997 FA Cup semi-final win over Wimbledon and every bit as good as the little Italian’s wonder strike.
Juve, unbeaten in 42 Serie A games, pulled a goal back eight minutes before half-time.
Claudio Marchisio – who had earlier been denied by keeper Petr Cech – found space near the edge of the penalty area and set up Arturo Vidal, whose shot went through John Terry’s legs and into the net.
Chelsea had to withstand a spell of pressure after the break but looked solid – especially after Ryan Bertrand came on for Ramires midway though the second half – and substitute Juan Mata missed a great chance to restore their two-goal lead.
But a mistake by John Obi Mikel led to the visitors netting an 80th-minute leveller.
Mikel gave the ball away and Marchisio was given time and space to slide the ball through to Quagliarella, who finished coolly.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole; Mikel, Lampard; Ramires (Bertrand 68), Hazard, Oscar (Mata 75); Torres.
Subs not used: Turnbull, Romeu, Moses, Cahill, Azpilicueta.
Follow West London Sport on Twitter
Find us on Facebook
This post was last modified on 22/09/2012
View Comments
It was a great match to watch just a shame that silly mistakes cost us just hope we cut them out real soon
Match Report:Chelsea's Oscar winning performance spoiled by Juve http://letstalkchelseafc.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/chelseas-oscar-winning-performance.html … #CFC #KTBFF #Juventus #UCL
I can see that Cfc need a better striker