champios league editorial + why i think playing chelsea 1st was a good thing

COMMENT
By Kris Voakes | Italian Football Writer

Watch out Europe... Juventus are back! They may not have won on their return to the Champions League, and there may have been signs of a few old failings still on display, but the Bianconeri showed that they are the real deal in coming from two goals down to earn a draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
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When the European champions hit them with a double sucker-punch on the half-hour mark, they could easily have folded. But instead they took confidence in having overcome a difficult opening quarter to wrestle the initiative from their hosts.

There was also another key moment during that 120-second period between Oscar’s two goals, as Arturo Vidal hobbled back onto the field of play.

The Chilean had seemingly damaged ligaments in his ankle in the act of almost putting Juve ahead, and for a while it appeared as though his night would end there. But when he regained his feet, the Old Lady regained hope, and within five minutes he limped his way into the Chelsea penalty area and fired them back into the game.

From there, Juve’s usual possession game, which has served them so well under Antonio Conte, was too much for Chelsea to handle. The Bianconeri dominated the second half, and were fully deserving of their equaliser, brilliantly taken by Fabio Quagliarella after he peeled off the static John Terry to latch onto Claudio Marchisio's excellent through ball. If Juve had gone on to get a winner, which they nearly did when Quagliarella turned and hit an excellent left-footed shot off the top of the bar, then Chelsea could have had no complaints.

They may have ridden their luck at times - such as when substitute Juan Mata fired wide at 2-1 - but this was a display of real belief and real intent. The occasional moments of weakness at the back, particularly early on when they found a couple of testing corners difficult to deal with, were quickly overcome.

Vidal remained key throughout a fixture played at a much more frenetic speed than anything Juve have played during their two-and-a-half year absence from the Champions League, with Andrea Pirlo closed out early on and the responsibility shifting to the former Bayer Leverkusen man to rein things in in midfield. The feeling is though, if he had gone off, then there may have been no point to show for their endeavour at the end of the night.

In dominating Chelsea, and pegging back the Blues, the Bianconeri proved they have the game and the desire necessary to go far in the tournament, but there still remains a question mark over what will happen if they are forced to dig deep within the squad reserves. Quagliarella came off the bench to save the day, which was one positive, and it will give Conte and Massimo Carrera great hope. But there will be other, less obvious, but equally huge tests to come.

So it’s so far, so very good for Juventus. Looking at the bigger picture, a point on the opening night is more credible than incredible, but it’s an excellent first step, and ensures that the rest of Europe will now be taking them very seriously.

Obviously yesterday's game was the type that will drain a player's energy. However, I think that the pace of yesterday's game gave juve notice re how quickly they must play to be successful against the top teams in europe. juve can now take that experience to help motivate them to push the tempo of their passing and transition between different phases of the game [this should help them both domestically and in champions]. also, and along the same lines, the juve players who haven't played in champions L. before were able to see how small the margin for error is in this tournament. combining those experiences [ which probably would not have occurred in norway] with their positive result, will help juve immensely as they navigate their way through their group.

unrelated note-- @ luca, like many others i thought of you when quags scored. i was in class, watching on my laptop, and almost lept out of my seat when i saw the goal and again when quags hit the post. if he had scored that 2d goal, i may have had to have walked right out of class and gone directly to the bar. forza fabio!

just my humble opinion.