Five Things Learned From Chelsea's 1-0 Pre-Season Defeat to Juventus | OneFootball

Chelsea suffered another pre-season disappointment with a 1-0 defeat to Juventus in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

As expected, Xabi Alonso made several changes to the line-up for this game.

Neither Cole Palmer nor Levi Colwill, who did not take part in Tuesday’s open training sessions, made the matchday squad, while summer signings Geovany Quenda and Danny Welbeck made their first pre-season appearance for Chelsea.

The Chelsea manager decided to stick with a 4-2-3-1 formation despite Palmer’s absence and the limited natural number 10 options.

Joao Pedro was chosen to fill the void, while Welbeck led the line for Chelsea in the first half.

It was a relatively cagey match, but Chelsea had more of the ball (57 per cent) and more shots on target (four to Juventus' two).

In the end, however, Juventus came out with the win, thanks to Edon Zhegrova’s decisive goal in the 68th minute in the second half.

Zhegrova celebrates scoring their first goal with Kenan Yildiz and Marco Palestra. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Chelsea have now lost two consecutive pre-season games, leaving Alonso with plenty of problems to address heading into the season.

Here are five things learned from the defeat in Hong Kong.

Lack of creativity without Palmer

Chelsea struggled to break down Juventus’ defence for the majority of the game.

The right wingers, Quenda in the first half and Estevao Willian in the last 45 minutes, created most of the team’s chances.

Things would likely have been much livelier if Chelsea had Valentin Barco or Enzo Fernandez in the team to add a creative spark from central midfield.

Moises Caicedo was mostly occupied with defensive responsibilities, while his midfield partner, 16-year-old Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, is more of a box-to-box player rather than a playmaker.

As a result, Chelsea looked very predictable in attack, with Juventus playing in a 5-4-1 structure off the ball, expecting attacks from wide areas.

Joao Pedro - Welbeck/Jackson duo provided interesting dynamic

There were advantages to having two versatile centre-forwards on the pitch as they could switch roles at any time.

On a few occasions, Welbeck dropped down and dragged a centre-back with him, making space for Joao Pedro to exploit in the first half.

Joao Pedro also played behind Jackson for about 15 minutes at the start of the second half, before being replaced by Liam Delap.

Juventus' Douglas Luiz in action with Chelsea's Joao Pedro. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Robert Sanchez - Mike Penders competition

Alonso has not declared his first-choice goalkeeper for the new season, and it looked like he gave each Sanchez and Penders 45 minutes to prove themselves.

Sanchez made a few good saves in the first half to keep the game goalless going into the break.

Unfortunately for Penders, he could not stop Zhegrova from taking the lead for Juventus with a beautiful long-range strike to the top corner.

That said, Penders will still have plenty of time to impress the manager before the season starts on August 24.

As mentioned, the 19-year-old was the brightest spark for Chelsea in the first half.

He linked up really well with Marco Palestra, who made a lot of forward runs on the right side of the pitch.

Quenda did not manage to provide a goal or an assist, but Estevao and Pedro Neto will clearly have stronger competition for the right-winger spot going forward.

It has been almost two years since Mudryk last played for Chelsea in November 2024, so his 10-minute second-half cameo in this game is quite special.

The Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong roared when he entered the pitch, replacing Nicolas Jackson in the 82nd minute.

His immediate future at Chelsea remains unclear, but it is good to see him return to the pitch again.