For Chelsea’s Under-19s, the group stage of the UEFA Youth League mirrors that of the men’s first team in the Champions League and just like Thomas Tuchel’s side, the Academy players head into today’s meeting with their equivalents from Juventus with a matchday one win under their belts.
Goals from Charlie Webster, Harvey Vale and Jude Soonsup-Bell ensured the young Blues came from behind to win 3-1 over Zenit St-Petersburg at Cobham. Juventus U19s meanwhile drew 2-2 at Malmo so Chelsea currently top our group.
The UEFA Youth League did not take place last season due to the pandemic, which means this season’s campaign brings a fresh test for a group that is overseen by development squad head coach Andy Myers.‘For the majority of the squad this is probably their first time in this competition,’ he says. ‘I am not saying they are not used to playing aboard, there are a few internationals for their age within the group, but it is a new experience for this competition.‘We have the PL2 league and the Papa John’s Trophy, but this is European competition for us to try and the Academy has won it twice before. It is about that winning mentality so the experience is good for a young group, so let’s see how we go.’
The UEFA Youth League regulations allows up to three Under-20s to be listed in the squad although many of Chelsea’s squad fall into the Under-18 category, providing a great learning curve for young players who take on one of Europe’s famous names today.
The match, which kicks off at 3pm UK time, can be viewed on BT Sport and UEFA.TV‘It should be a tough game,’ says Myers. ‘We've watched them. I’m sure they've watched us as well. Juventus have a lot of history but Chelsea have our history so hopefully both the first team and our game should be good games.’