Mykhailo Mudryk made his first competitive appearance in 20 months but could not prevent Chelsea slipping to another defeat in what is rapidly turning into a disappointing pre-season tour of Asia.
The Ukraine winger had not played since November 2024 after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium but saw his case resolved earlier than expected last week. He jetted out immediately to join the Chelsea squad in Hong Kong and was thrust into the action to a warm reception from the crowd with eight minutes to go.
It was not really enough time for Mudryk to get involved in a fractious encounter that saw four players booked.
And while he will steal the headlines, it was Juventus who took the win thanks to Edon Zhegrova’s lovely curling effort midway through the second half.
Mudryk makes Chelsea return, replacing fellow sub Nicolas Jackson
Mudryk came on for Nicolas Jackson, who himself had been introduced at half-time for debutant Danny Welbeck.
The 25-year-old did create one moment of promise with a nice run and cross that was well gathered by Juve goalkeeper Mattia Perin.
Chelsea never really threatened an equaliser once Zhegrova opened the scoring in what was another disjointed display to follow on from a wild 6-4 win over the A-League’s worst team, the Western Sydney Wanderers, and a 2-1 defeat to a Tottenham side that played with 10 men for almost the entirety of the second half.
It adds further weight to the theory that Alonso needs to do some serious trimming to a bloated squad with 21 players on the bench and the likes of Enzo Fernandez as well as new signings, Valentin Barco, Maxence Lacroix, Jordan Henderson and Morgan Rogers still on their post World Cup break.
more to follow
