Juventus secured top spot in Champions League Group H with a 1-0 win against Swedish side Malmo at the Allianz Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Match Report
Young striker Moise Kean scored the only goal of the first half after 18 minutes, heading home from Federico Bernardeschi's sumptuous left-footed cross.
Chelsea, competing with the Italian giants for first place in the group, conceded a late equaliser against Zenit St Petersburg, which meant three points in Turin saw Massimiliano Allegri's side get top spot and potentially an easier last-16 draw.
Moise Kean scored in the 18th minute for his first goal in the Champions League for the Bianconeri.
Juventus finished two points above second-place Chelsea, which conceded a late goal in a 3-3 draw at Zenit St. Petersburg. Malmo already knew it would finish bottom of Group H.
Juventus won all but one of its matches in the group stage, losing 4-0 to defending champion Chelsea. The Champions League has offered some relief for the Italian team, which has fallen out of contention domestically.
Massimiliano Allegri's squad needed a better result than Chelsea to top the group but were missing a number of players through injury on a cold night in Turin. It had snowed for most of the day but stopped in the afternoon and the pitch was clear.
Allegri handed Koni De Winter his first start. The 19-year-old defender had made his debut as a late substitute in the loss to Chelsea in the previous round.
Mattia Perin made his European debut but the 29-year-old goalkeeper had little to do for most of the match.
Juventus broke the deadlock when Federico Bernardeschi got down the right and whipped in a cross for Kean to head in from close range.
Kean had other chances to seal the result but sent them off target. Although, he did force a brilliant save from Ismael Diawara after the Malmo goalkeeper had poorly dealt with an Adrien Rabiot effort.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
2' Rugani's header too straight
7' CLOSE! Kean's shot inches wide
17' GOAL! Juventus 1-0 Malmo (Kean)
45' Arthur's shot wide out
57' Bentancur' long shot over the bar
58' Rabiot's shot wide out
66' Kean's shot stopped
71' Kean's shot wide out
82' Kean misses decent chance
Line-ups
Juventus XI: Bonucci, Sandro, Perin, Rugani, Dybala, Rabiot, Bernardeschi, Arthur, Bentancur, Kean, Koni De Winter
Subs: Szczesny, Chiellini, Cuadrado, Pinsoglio, Morata, De Sciglio, Locatelli, De Ligt, F. Miretti, C. Da Graca
Malmo XI: Olsson, Moisander, A. Christiansen, J. Berget, L. Nielsen, A. Čolak, Ismael Diawara, E. Rakip, B. Innocent, A. Ahmedhodzic, V. Birmančević
Subs: J. Dahlin, E. Larsson, S. Peña, F. Brorsson, Adi Nalic, P. Gwargis, S. Nanasi, M. Abubakari, M. Ellborg