Chelsea's pre-season preparations hit a roadblock as they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat against Juventus in Hong Kong, courtesy of Edon Zhegrova's exceptional second-half goal. The substitute ignited the game with the only notable moment of quality, curling his first-time effort into the top left corner after latching onto Kenan Yildiz's pass.
Chelsea, employing the back four favored by Xabi Alonso for the upcoming season, struggled to pose a threat throughout the match. Their best chance came from Marco Palestra, who was denied by Michele Di Gregorio after making a run into the box. Palestra showed promise alongside debutant Geovany Quenda and new signing Danny Welbeck in the starting lineup, but creating scoring opportunities in the final third proved to be a challenge for the Blues. The starting lineup consisted of Sanchez, Palestra, Fofana, Tosin, Hato, Caicedo, Nicoli-Jazuli, Quenda, Joao Pedro, Gittens, and Welbeck, with several players coming off the bench.
Despite failing to create clear goal-scoring opportunities, Chelsea can point to the absences of Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer, and Enzo Fernandez in the starting lineup. Welbeck shared striker duties with Joao Pedro in his first start for the club, combining with Quenda for the only chance before the break, but his header went wide. Mykhailo Mudryk made his first appearance since November 2024 after resolving his anti-doping proceedings, but his introduction with under 10 minutes remaining could not prevent Chelsea's consecutive pre-season defeats.