Chelsea vs Juventus LIVE: Welbeck makes debut but Palmer absent for pre-season friendly | OneFootball

Chelsea’s pre-season preparations continue today in Hong Kong as they face Juventus in a friendly. Xabi Alonso side have already played two matches with both sending up surprising results as the the new manager looks to get to grips with his new squad.

The first game was a 6-4 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers before Tottenham defeated Chelsea 2-1 thanks to a Richarlison winner in extra time.

Alonso knows there is more work to be done before the season begins in three weeks saying “we are at the stage of pre-season, so not where we want to be,” at a press conference on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck are recent arrivals to the club as is winger Geovany Quenda who, along with Welbeck, has joined the squad on their tour of Australia and Asia and could feature against Juve. Yet, Alonso knows there is work to be done

The Serie A side have enjoyed a decent pre-season with a draw against Basel quickly followed up by wins over Stanrd Liege and OGC Nice but can they beat the Blues this afternoon?

Chelsea 0-0 Juventus

9 mins: It’s been a gentle opening nine minutes to this match which will go to penalties if it ends in a draw after 90 minutes.

Chelsea haven’t found their rhythm yet.

Mike Jones5 August 2026 12:40

Chelsea 0-0 Juventus

6 mins: Joao Pedro is playing just off Danny Welbeck in a No 10 role.

Fofana is in control as Chelsea push forward but an attempt to feed Welbeck sees him give up possession.

Juve sweep quickly up the pitch and Locatelli lets fly from the edge of the box only to fire the effort wide.

Chelsea 0-0 Juventus

3 mins: There’s been a few physical tackles already despite this match being a friendly.

Another long ball from Juve comes over the head of Wesley Fofana but the defender has kept a high line and his opponent is flagged offside as he attempts to nip in behind the Chelsea defence.

Kick off! Chelsea 0-0 Juventus

Juventus get the ball rolling in Hong Kong.

Chelsea are in there Blue kit today and will be hoping to get back to winning ways.

Juve work the ball along the back line before drilling a long ball up the pitch which is won by Palestra.

Chelsea v Juventus

The players have gone through their warm ups and are all ready to head out onto the pitch for this clash in Hong Kong.

Chelsea lost their last game, against Spurs, so can Xabi Alonso’s men get themselves back on track this afternoon?

We’re about to find out, kick off is up next...

A final word from Alonso

“We are in the middle of pre-season; it’s three weeks since we started and there are three weeks to go more or less.

“We analyse every game for what we did right and how we can improve.

“After the Spurs game, we have analysed it, and we face a great team [Juventus] with experienced players and a great coach.

“So, it’s going to be a very interesting and good test.”

(PA)

Mike Jones5 August 2026 12:18

Alonso has confidence Chelsea 'will be ready'

The new Chelsea boss spoke about his squad not being where they would like to be during this pre-season so far but Xabi Alonso is confident they ‘will be ready’ for the start of the new season.

He said: “I have confidence, motivation and a good feeling with the team, with the players, about what we want to achieve, so that when we start in the Premier League, we feel we are ready.

“For sure, with the players we have now and the others who will join [training at Cobham] – who I’d love to have more time with but it is what it is – the feeling is that we will start in a good way.”

'We want to be competitive'

Xabi Alonso has been speaking about his aims for Chelsea this season and the hope is that he can make the group competitive.

“We want to have a good season,” Alonso told the media in Hong Kong.

“Let’s see where we are in May, but for sure we want to have the feeling we are competitive and that we deserve to fight for important things during the season.

“Time will tell, but that’s our goal.”

(Reuters)

Mike Jones5 August 2026 12:06