Chelsea 0-1 Juventus in Kai Tak pre-season friendly
Juventus defeated Chelsea 1-0 at Kai Tak Sports Park in a pre-season friendly on 2026-08-05, with Edon Zhegrova scoring from outside the box in the 68th minute.
Led by Luciano Spalletti, Juventus faced a Chelsea side managed by Xabi Alonso in the friendly at Kai Tak Sports Park; Chelsea were missing Cole Palmer, which the report said left them short of midfield control that Juventus exploited. The Blues have now conceded in all three of their pre-season games, according to the article.
Edon Zhegrova’s strike from distance broke a deadlock that had endured through much of the match; the report described the goal as sensational and identified it as the decisive moment. The write-up added that, despite not conceding many opportunities overall, Chelsea’s lack of awareness ultimately cost them.
Chelsea deployed a two-striker system featuring Joao Pedro and Danny Wellbeck but the pair were unable to breach the pairing of Lloyd Kelly and Federico Gatti, the piece said. Pierre Kalulu was singled out for a strong performance at right back, a defensive show the article suggested will give Juventus an advantage over opponents.
Mykhailo Mudryk returned to the field for Chelsea after almost two years but was on for about 10 minutes and "was not very impactful," the report stated. The match also provided minutes for several youth players for the Blues, and the article concluded those appearances could be a positive from the friendly.
The report noted that Juventus had a young Fabio Miretti in the attacking midfield area who "surely delivered an above-average performance." It also observed that Chelsea’s midfield remained their ultimate strength, while the club struggled to manage its large squad depth: "Xabi Alonso must fix this issue as the new season is now around the corner."
The article finished by underlining that "The Old Lady still need to work on their performance in the final third and it will be interesting to see their performances during the upcoming 2026-27 season," pointing to the next phase of preparation for both clubs ahead of the new campaign.
