Positive result, and we could have nicked it at the end. Going down 2-0 in England, against English opposition, I would've been tempted to call it a night (my sister texted me and was like fuck this, we are going to lose 5-0. Fuck Chelsea! They don't deserve to be 2-0 up). Had this been the Juve of seasons past, I'd have probably though this game is as good as over, but something about this team, the belief, the desire, the willingness to keep fighting, made me believe a comeback was possible (think Napoli, Milan, and Roma last season; Napoli and Genoa earlier this season). Fair enough, only a few minutes after Chelsea had gone 2-0 up, Vidal pulled one back (this guy typifies the Juventus spirit; a true warrior). Quag came on and prove to be lively and productive; scoring a goal, and almost grabbing a 2'nd at the death with that shot that rebounded off the crossbar.
Bonucci (yes he was at fault for the first goal as the leg he stuck out allowed the ball to take a massive deflection and completely deceive Buffon), Pirlo, and Giovinco were largely disappointing. Chiellini, Lichsteiner, Vidal, Marchisio, and Quags were the standouts for me. Our 1'st half perfromance was actually better than our 2'nd half one (at no point did we deserve to be 2-0 down). Fatigue began to creep in, and both times sprayed a lot of misplaced passes in the 2'nd half. A very good result considering we were 2-0 down at the home of the current European Champions.
We obviously made a statement and managed to prove a point (which earned us a point) last night. We need to continue along this path, and 9 games in the forthcoming 3 fixtures is not merely a possibility, but a necessity. We shouldn't settle for less.
I know Shakhtar represent a tricky proposition, but can any Russians/Ukranians give us a rundown of their team?