Juventus beats Chelsea in a friendly: In Hong Kong, it’s the man you least expect who makes the difference

Juventus continues its unbeaten streak this summer: following the 0-0 draw in Basel and 1-0 wins over Standard Liège and a 2-0 victory over Nice, the team secured its third straight win, this time against Chelsea, in a friendly match (the third-to-last of the summer, before the matches against Inter and Palermo) played on Wednesday at Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong.

The first half was uneventful: Luciano Spalletti relied on his now-classic 4-2-3-1 formation, with Di Gregorio in goal, Kalulu and Zeki Celik on the wings, Gattie Kelly as the central defenders, Locatelli and Douglas Luis in midfield, and Cambiaso, Miretti, and Boga in the attacking midfield supporting the lone striker, Arek Milik. The Polish striker came close to scoring late in the half with a shot that went just wide of the post.

In the second half, the predictable flurry of substitutions saw, in the first half of the half, Perin, Bremer, Zhegrova, David, Owusu, Koopmeiners, Yildiz, and Cabal take the place of Di Gregorio, Locatelli, Boga, Milik, Cambiaso, Douglas Luiz, Miretti, and Kalulu. In the 68th minute, the goal that would prove decisive arrived: Yildiz set up Zhegrova, who unleashed a great curling left-footed shot; the opposing goalkeeper, Penders, had no chance to stop it, and Juve took a 1-0 lead.

In the closing minutes, the Bianconeri also brought on Arthur, Rugani, and Durmisi, who replaced Owusu, Gatti, and David. The pace, however, remained slow, and for the Bianconeri—wearing pink jerseys today—it was fairly straightforward to secure the win: the match ended 1-0, watched from the stands by Kolo Muani and Alajbegovic.