Champions League — 21 November 2012

Chelsea suffered a 3-0 defeat at Juventus in the Champions League last night.

The defeat puts their chances of making it to the knockout stages out of their hands. The defeat also cost boss Roberto Di Matteo his job.

The Bianconeri took the lead in the 38th minute. Andrea Pirlo strode forward towards the Chelsea goal and took a shot which striker Fabio Quagliarella deflected past Petr Cech in the Blues goal. Juve were two goals up in the 61st minute, Arturo Vidal’s effort deflecting in off Chelsea midfielder Ramires.

Juve rubbed salt into the Chelsea wounds in injury-time, as Sebastian Giovinco slid the ball under the outrushing Petr Cech to make it three. The result leaves Juventus second in the group and the Italian side now only need a draw in Donetsk to qualify for the knockout stages.

Juve’s opponents in the next match Shakhtar Donetsk defeated Danish champions Nordsjaelland 5-2 in Copenhagen. The Ukrainian champions are through to the last 16 after the victory. Brazilian striker Luiz Adriano scored a hat-trick and compatriot Willian scored a brace.

One of Adriano’s strikes proved controversial, as the striker ran onto a ball that was supposed to be being returned to the Danes. The striker carried on his run and rounded the Nordsjaelland keeper to score the vital equaliser.

The Nordsjaelland goals came from Morten Nordstrand and Kasper Lorentzen. Twice the Danes had the lead only to be pegged back. They are now out of the competition.

In Group F Valencia and Bayern Munich drew 1-1 at the Mestalla. The home side had defender Antonio Barragan dismissed before taking the lead in the 77th minute through French midfielder Sofiane Feghouli.

Thomas Muller equalised for the German giants five minutes later. The draw was enough to send both sides through to the knockout stages of the competition. Lille and BATE will now fight it out for the Europa League place, after the French side won 2-0 in Belarus.

Other Champions League results:

Spartak Moscow 0-3 Barcelona

Benfica 2-1 Celtic

Galatasaray 1-0 Manchester United

Cluj 3-1 Braga

Can Chelsea still qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League?

Share

About Author

David Nugent

David is a 29 year-old football fan and journalist, who is passionate about the beautiful game. He is a lifelong supporter of Premier League Everton and likes nothing better than a healthy discussion about the world's favourite sport.

(0) Readers Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *