Good evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary as Chelsea begin the defence of their Champions League title against Juventus.
It would probably be fair to say that Chelsea coach Roberto Di Matteo would have been hoping for an easier tie for his side on their return to European action following last season's success.
As it is, the Blues will play host to one of the biggest names in world football: Italian champions Juventus.
These two are considered the favourites to progress out of Group E, making three points from this match vital in the battle for top spot.
Stay tuned to find out who will come out on top at Stamford Bridge.
9.41pmThat's just about it as far as our coverage goes. Hope you've enjoyed it over the past two days. We certainly have. Roll on the next round of matches.
9.37pmWell, those two goals from Oscar turn out to be ones that rescue a draw for the Blues rather than a secure a win. Juve deserve the point for the way that they responded to going two goals behind. Roberto Di Matteo will certainly be the unhappier of the two managers after this.
9.36pmRESULT: Chelsea 2-2 Juventus
90+2 min30 seconds to go...
90+1 minChelsea having a lot of the ball inside the Juve half at present. However, they're struggling to break the Italians down.
90 minThree minutes of stoppage time to be played...
88 minSUBSTITUTION: Vucinic (who looks just like the lead singer of Maroon 5 in case you were wondering/care) is replaced by Matri.
87 minOFF THE BAR! So, so, so close from Quagliarella. The Italian turns on six pence inside the area and sends a curling effort goalwards. Cech is well beaten but thankfully for Chelsea the ball strikes the top of the crossbar. Lucky escape.
85 minIt's rather end to end at the moment. Got the feeling there is one more goal left in this tie. Don't go anywhere!
82 minOh dear Mikel and Terry. First Mikel gives the ball away then Terry tries to play offside. It was a poor decision as Marchiso slips in substitute Quagliarella, who calmly slots the ball underneath an advancing Cech. Costly mistakes. Juve are back from two goals down and they could well win this now.
80 minGOAL! Chelsea 2-2 Juventus (Quagliarella)
79 minCHANCE! Half of the ground thought Chelsea were 3-1 up there, me included! Hazard and Mata link smartly for the latter to go through on goal. The angle was tight though and the Spaniard can only find the side netting.
77 minSUBSTITUTION: It's raining subs at the moment. Another switch for Juve as Liechtensteiner hobbles off to be replaced by Chile international Isla.
74 minSUBSTITUTION: Two-goal hero Oscar takes his bow to be replaced by Juan Mata. Juve also make a change - Giovinco off and Quagliarella is on.
71 minNeither side look like notching that all important fourth goal at the moment. Juventus are currently having more of the ball, but they are rarely troubling the Chelsea goal.
68 minSUBSTITUTION: Ramires comes off to be replaced by England youngster Ryan Bertrand.
65 minCHANCE! Marchiso looks to have the goal at his mercy. However, as he pulls the trigger, Luiz produces a great challenge to deny the midfielder. Vital tackle from the Brazilian.
61 min...In fact it wasn't Pirlo who struck it, it was Giovinco. It should have been Pirlo though as the latter sends the ball into the crowd.
60 minFree-kick for Juve and Pirlo 25 yards from goal...
58 minPENALTY APPEAL! Hazard is adamant that he should have a penalty after going down under the challenge of Barzagli. He was looking for it, but the young Belgian has a point. It was clumsy from Barzagli.
55 minThe Brazilian is up and we're off and running again.
55 minGot a stoppage in play at the moment while Ramires receives treatment following a collision with Buffon. Wouldn't fancy doing that myself! He's a unit.
52 minSAVE! It was a powerful strike from Lampard but Buffon was equal to it to punch away.
52 minCentral free-kick to Chelsea around 20 yards out. Lampard, Luiz and Torres stand over the ball...
50 minCHANCE! Ivanovic is known for scoring with his head, not so much with his feet. However, he almost did there with a dipping shot from 20 yards out. Good save from Buffon.
47 minCHANCE! First opportunity of the half goes Chelsea's way. Hazard crosses for Ramires, but the pint-sized Ramires cannot leap high enough and the ball goes wide.
45 minRight the players are out and Chelsea get the second half underway...
8.42pmSome half-time stats for you: Chelsea have had 67% of the possession, having six shots at Buffon's goal in the process. Juve have had eight attempts, six of which have forced Cech into action.
8.35pmAs if by magic, here's our half-time report from the Bridge. Enjoy.
8.34pmWell what a half in the end. It started very slowly, but it exploded into life with a double from Oscar. Both sides looked vulnerable at the back, which is making for a really good game for the neutral.
8.33pmHALF-TIME: Chelsea 2-1 Juventus
45+2 min...but it flies harmlessly wide of the upright. Unusual from the midfielder.
45+1 minJuve get a late free-kick, which Pirlo looks certain to hit...
45 minOne minute of stoppage time to be played...
44 minCHANCE! Good play from Torres inside the Juve area sees him find Ramires. The Brazilian opts to shoot from an acute angle and Buffon parries clear, just.
42 minYou could sum it but saying Vidal's goal came so soon after Oscar went a bit wild. Get it? I'll get my coat.
40 minStill struggling to work out where all this has come from. It looked as though we were going to chug along to the half-time whistle then bang! Three goals in seven minutes. You've got to love the Champions League!
38 minWhat on earth has happened to this game!? It was rather dull 10 minutes ago. Now it's 2-1. Vidal was surrounded by five Chelsea defenders but he somehow drills past Cech from 18 yards out. Really good finish. Game on.
37 minGOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Juventus (Vidal)
34 minAbsolutely stunning from the Brazilian. One goal just wasn't enough for him. He turns fantastically on the edge of the box and curls the ball into the top corner. You won't see many better goals this season, mark my words! What a couple of minutes for the Blues.
33 minGOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Juventus (Oscar)
32 minWell I've got to admit that I didn't see that coming. The Juve midfield gives Oscar time and space 25 yards from goal and the debutant fires past Buffon with the aid of a deflection off Bonucci. The defence of the title has begun for Chelsea.
31 minGOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Juventus (Oscar)
28 minCHANCE! That really should be 1-0 to Juventus. Vucinic finds himself with time and space inside the area, but he lashes the ball into the side netting. He had to send his shot across Cech there. Really, really poor.
23 minCHANCE! All of a sudden this game has burst into life. Torres and Ramires both have chances inside the Juve area, but they seem to get in each others way and the danger is eventually cleared.
21 minCHANCE! Marchiso really should have put Juventus in front there. He was put through one-on-one with Cech but his chest control is poor and Cech comes out to collect. A better touch and he would surely have scored there.
18 min...Which is also cleared. Chelsea have been wasteful from set plays so far.
18 minCorner to Chelsea after Torres's downward header is cleared...
14 minJuve beginning to control this game now. They're looking a lot more comfortable in possession at the moment. Meanwhile, Chelsea are struggling to get any support up to an isolated Torres.
10 minCHANCE! Lampard has a dig from distance but the ball takes a deflection and Buffon gathers with ease.
9 minVery little happening at Stamford Bridge at the moment. Juve are now seeing more of the ball, but it's all in the middle of the pitch.
7 minJuventus are struggling to keep possession of the ball at the moment. Chelsea are harrying them into errors. They're not use to that back in Serie A.
3 minCHANCE! Another corner from Lampard his headed goalwards by David Luiz. However, the Brazilian heads straight at Buffon. Good start from the Blues.
2 min...But the ball eventually ends up in the hands of Buffon.
2 minEarly corner for Chelsea...
1 minJuventus get us underway...
7.44pmThis time Terry gets a handshake from his opposite number at the coin toss. In fact, Juve skipper Buffon looked rather keen to see the England international.
7.42pmRight here come the players. We'll soon here that anthem that makes these sort of nights even more special.
7.41pmObviously it was carried on - by members of the army to be precise. It didn't walk on by itself!
7.40pmBefore the players, the trophy has made it's way onto the pitch.
7.38pmFor those that like a flutter, I've just looked around a few betting sites and I like Frank Lampard to score first at 8/1. He gets forward well as we all know and also takes penalties. You can thank me later!
7.33pmOkay, you've twisted my arm, here is one more final stat. Both Fernando Torres and Juan Mata (on the bench) scored past Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon during the Euro 2012 final as Spain ran out 4-0 winners over Italy. The keeper will not want to see them baring down on his goal again, that's for sure.
7.30pmHere's one more pro-Chelsea stat for you. Their manager, Di Matteo, once found the net against Juventus. That was way back in 1995 when he played in the Lazio midfield.
7.26pm...Fulham! Remember that? That was back during the 2010 Europa League. The Cottagers lost 3-1 away, but a 4-1 victory at home saw them advance to the quarters at Juve's expense.
7.25pmIt would be fair to say that England has not been the happiest of hunting grounds for Juventus. Their last win came courtesy of a strike from Del Piero against Manchester United back in 1996. Since then they have failed to defeat United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and...
7.22pmThese two sides have met once previously in this competition. That was back in 2009 in the last 16. The first leg in Turin ended 2-2, before Didier Drogba scored the only goal of the game at the Bridge to send Chelsea through to the quarter-finals.
7.20pmAnyway, that's enough negativity from Pat. Let's fill your heads with some stats!
7.18pmBriefly returning to Chelsea's chances of becoming the first club to retain the trophy. One former Blue is not holding out much as hope as Pat Nevin tells BBC Sport: "I wouldn't even say they are in the top four favourites to win the competition. If they got to the semis that would be a really good effort."
7.16pmNevertheless, Juve do have a strong looking midfield. As well as Pirlo, they also have Claudio Marchiso and Arturo Vidal. That trio should be a match for Chelsea's offering of Lampard, Ramires and Mikel. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that whatever midfield wins that battle, their team will win the match.
7.13pmThankfully for Chelsea, they won't be playing this evening!
7.11pmAlessandro Del Piero, Zinedine Zidane, Edgar Davids and Didier Deschamps to name a few. During the 90s they really were the team that set the standard.
7.09pmStill, Chelsea should take solace in the fact that this is not the Juventus of the mid-90's. They had players that were so good it was scary.
7.04pmOne player that could be in for a tricky night is Chelsea skipper John Terry. He's struggled against Mirko Vucinic in recent matches. The striker netted twice against the Blues while playing for Roma, as well as giving England a torrid time last year. On both occasions, Terry was left in knots.
7.01pmSo, can Chelsea become the first club to retain the Champions League in its current format? It will certainly be a tough task, starting with tonight's visit of the Old Lady.
6.58pmGot to confess it's great to see Andrea Pirlo playing in England. He may be advancing in years, but he showed during Euro 2012 that he is still one of the best in the business. A real class act.
6.56pmJuventus X1: Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Marchiso, Pirlo; Vucinic, Asamoah, Vidal; Giovinco
6.54pmThat looks pretty strong as far as Chelsea are concerned. It will be interesting to see how Oscar gets on in his first start. He showed during the Olympics that he is an extremely creative player.
6.52pmChelsea X1: Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole; Mikel, Lampard, Ramires, Oscar, Hazard; Torres
6.50pmBREAKING TEAM NEWS: Brazilian midfielder Oscar makes his full debut for Chelsea. Full lineups to follow.
6.46pmI covered Man City's trip to Real Madrid last night for Sports Mole. If Chelsea vs. Juventus goes a similar way, I think I'll sleep for a week after!
6.45pmHere we go again then. The second instalment of the opening round of matches from the Champions League. If it's anything like last night, we're going to be in for a cracker.
body check tags ::
