They could only rely on set pieces as much as possible now.
After receiving instructions from Coach Allegri,
Juventus' two central defenders, Chiellini and Benatia, moved up into Chelsea's penalty area.
In the stands,
tens of thousands of Chelsea fans were chanting defensive slogans.
The player standing over the free kick was Khedira.
A former Real Madrid player,
he was now the core of Germany's midfield.
Although Khedira stands at 1.89 meters tall,
he didn't go for a header in the box.
Instead, he chose to deliver a pass.
Suddenly—
The ball dropped inside Chelsea's penalty area.
The first player to get to it was Chiellini.
But—
Chiellini is a defender after all.
While he could've cleared the ball,
shooting directly was a bit too difficult for him.
Chiellini knew this himself.
So, in that moment,
he chose to head the ball toward the center.
Juventus striker Higuain fought hard to reach it first.
Of course,
Chelsea's defenders weren't being careless either.
Just as Higuain rose for a header,
another defender stepped in to interfere.
That player was Christensen.
Christensen had been in solid form all night—
always showing up at critical moments.
Once he got in position and blocked Higuain,
Higuain's header posed no real threat.
And then—
The very next second—
Courtois firmly caught the ball!!
At first, Courtois wanted to launch a quick counterattack.
But Hazard hadn't accelerated into the front yet.
So instead, Courtois passed the ball to Rüdiger.
And that pass—
Almost cost Chelsea the entire match.
After receiving the ball,
Rüdiger made a sloppy pass right to Juventus defender Benatia.
At the time,
Juventus' defenders were still inside Chelsea's box,
looking for attacking opportunities instead of retreating.
And now—
Rüdiger had passed the ball directly to Benatia!
It was a baffling mistake.
Fortunately—
Benatia is a defender.
Which meant—
his shooting technique was far from polished.
His shot flew straight over the crossbar.
A golden opportunity missed!
Five minutes later—
As the match neared its end,
Allegri made a bold move.
He instructed Chiellini and Benatia to remain in Chelsea's penalty area.
In other words—
At this point,
Chiellini and Benatia were now playing as makeshift forwards.
Along with Higuain,
three Juventus players now occupied Chelsea's box at the same time!
But Chelsea didn't panic.
After all, tonight's setup featured a three-defender formation.
Gary Cahill marked Higuain.
Christensen took on Chiellini.
Rüdiger was assigned to Benatia.
Man-to-man—
the numbers were perfectly matched.
Now, everything came down to Juventus' passing quality.
On the wing—
The ball once again found its way to Douglas Costa.
Undeniably,
Douglas Costa is incredibly fast.
He didn't waste any time or motion...
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