TUCHEL IS SAFE BUT GHOST OF DI MATTEO LURKS

THERE will be no bullet before bedtime for Thomas Tuchel. Unlike the last man who led Chelsea into Turin as European Champions and lost, he will live to fight another day. It was nine years ago when a defeat in the group stages at Juventus proved the end for Roberto di Matteo, who left out record-signing Fernando Torres, lost 3-0 and was sacked before he was back home. Many things were different back then but once again in view of the Italian Alps, the challenges are starting to emerge for Tuchel. On Saturday, they lost without a shot on target against Manchester City and a handful of injuries are testing what appears to be such a well-stocked squad. Perhaps it is all a reminder of the fragility and fortune lurking at the heart of form. Without Mason Mount, tactically crucial last season for club and country, the balance has proved elusive. Mount has started this campaign as if the heavy workload might be starting to catch him up and he missed this game with a knock. Even so, possession was not a problem for Chelsea in Italy last night. There was lots of the ball but there were long spells when they found it impossible to create anything meaningful. Nor did they strike so decisively on the turnover. It had been much the same for 45 minutes at Tottenham, recently, when the introduction of N’Golo Kante turned the game in their favour. This time Kante was absent, too, and Tuchel’s half-time switch was to send on Ben Chilwell on the left side. Within seconds of the restart, however, Chelsea were a goal behind. Juventus, missing strikers Alvaro Morata and Pablo Dybala, had been wasteful in the first half, unable to take advantage of unforced errors made deep in midfield by Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho. Federico Chiesa made no mistake after the interval, however, and the home crowd, still operating at only about half its capacity with less than 20,000 in attendance, responded vibrantly. From the first blast of ACDC, they were up for this tie — proof, if needed, that Chelsea represent a significant scalp as defending champions in Europe’s elite tournament. There were whistles and jeers for Romelu Lukaku when the teams were read out and when he missed an early chance in the game. Lukaku is not a popular figure in Turin after scoring the goals for Inter Milan that wrenched away the Serie A title after nine years. The fans shrieked again when a pass hit him on the back of the head. And yet again when he broke clear and overhit a cross from the left in the second half. In Italy, the game had been billed as the £97.5million former Inter Milan man up against Leonardo Bonucci. The veteran centre half had offered a rallying call in an interview on the eve of the game, calling for Juventus to recover their sense of ‘humility’ and ‘sacrifice’. It seemed to be something of a battle cry for a new era — one without Cristiano Ronaldo, of course. And if it was designed to lift the mood after a difficult start to Max Allegri’s second spell in charge at the club, it seemed to work. Juventus summoned a reaction. They were quicker and sharper than Chelsea. They showed great respect to the champions and fought with tenacity right across the pitch to keep the visitors at bay. Juventus then took the lead and forced Chelsea to search for answers. On came fresh legs but they could not prevent a second successive defeat. Now it will be the turn of Tuchel (left) to respond. Qualification from Group H is not in peril. There is no need to panic but the ghosts of Turin have certainly not been banished

yet.