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.
But 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.
Welbeck threatens in poor first half
Welbeck was handed a first start in a Chelsea shirt following his surprise move from Brighton and the experienced former England international had the Blues only real chance in a largely dire opening 45 minutes at Kai Tak Stadium.
The chance was created by another debutant, teenage winger Geovany Quenda, after 13 minutes with a beautifully whipped in cross that picked out Welbeck but the 35-year-old’s flicked header flew wide of the target.
The early stages were littered with niggly fouls and the odd hefty challenge with both sides looking to set down a marker – much to the delight of an enthusiastic crowd.
Bar Welbeck’s header and a wayward shot from Quenda, there was very little for the locals to get excited about with no efforts on target in the opening half hour.
Juve offered more of an attacking threat as half-time approached, the lively Jeremie Boga sending in two crosses, the first dropped by Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who did much better with the second.
Sanchez was also called into action on the stroke of half-time to keep out a Boga shot, the Spaniard getting down well to ensure the game remained goalless at half-time.
Dans le cadre de sa tournée de pré-saison à Hong Kong, la Juventus affrontait Chelsea en match amical. Entré à la mi-temps, l'ancien Lillois Edon Zhegrova a ouvert le score d'une magnifique frappe enroulée pour les Bianconeri pic.twitter.com/jRFvn3rArZ
— L'Équipe (@lequipe) August 5, 2026
Second half equally bad until Juventus goal
Estevao Willian, Mamadou Sarr, Jackson and goalkeeper Mike Penders were introduced at the break, for Quenda, Tosin Adarabioyo, Welbeck and Sanchez but the changes failed to inject any life into Chelsea.
Marco Palestra, another new arrival at Stamford Bridge, did impress, though, and his cross-shot was well gathered by Perrin with Jamie Gittens ready to pounce on the rebound.
Shortly after Alonso made another raft of changes, the deadlock was broken with Zhegrova sending a lovely, bending effort past Penders.
Jackson was withdrawn, after earlier being on the wrong end of a wild challenge from Juve’s former Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz, but Chelsea could not find a leveller.
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