The Champions League titleholders Chelsea returned to action, eager to show their transfer-window spending would permit a more cunning style of play than the smash-and-grab tactics with which the Blues landed the trophy in Munich.

In this opening game, their unsyncopated midfield and plodding back line conspired to make them resemble the team that limped to a sixth-place Premier League finish last season. Italian champions Juventus, who have been unbeaten in Serie A since coach Antonio Conte took charge, showed grit and tenacity to claw back from a two-goal hole and earn a 2-2 tie at Stamford Bridge. Here are three points that stood out from the game.

SURPRISE STAR
With the wealth of midfield talent on display, including the experienced Frank Lampard, majestic Eden Hazard, hard-running Ramires, ageless yet oddly bearded Andrea Pirlo and expansive Claudio Marchisio, the game was expected to be a tight battle for possession. It could not have begun more sloppily. A nervy Juventus took time to settle and both sides appeared unable to retain the ball in the early going.

Chelsea sought to exploit space on the flanks, threatening a confused Juventus back line early on. Despite earning a battery of corners, their only real menace was provided by Giorgio Chiellini manhandling John Terry ahead of each kick.

Marchisio's deep-lying runs provided Juventus' greatest early threat as he cunningly played off the lack of pace at the heart of the Chelsea defense. The Italian was able to spring the Chelsea offside trap with ease, only to let the ball bounce off his thigh when through on Petr Cech.

It came as some surprise, then, that the game-changer was Champions League debutant Oscar, the 21-year-old Brazilian who had previously made just three substitute appearances for Chelsea. After a quiet start in which his offensive threat was blunted by the need to smother Pirlo, he plundered two goals in two minutes. His first goal was aided by a wild piece of defending by Leonardo Bonucci, whose outstretched leg sent the ball looping into the Juventus net, catalyzing a well-oiled salsa between the goal scorer and David Luiz.

The young Chelsea midfielder seemed to grow visibly in confidence, and his second was no fluke. A balletic maneuver around Pirlo was followed by a sumptuous swerving drive past a helpless Gianluigi Buffon. In the 74th minute, he limped off to a standing ovation -- the first of many to come at Stamford Bridge.

WHAT IS IT THAT THEY SAY ABOUT A TWO-GOAL LEAD?
It was not until they had leaked two goals that the Italian champions came alive, summoning the belief that if they kept tweaking the ball forward they could find gaps between the rusty, deep-lying Chelsea defense and midfield. First Arturo Vidal struck after the Chelsea defense switched off. Then John Obi-Mikel sloppily turned the ball over, and John Terry made an ill-advised attempt to catch Fabio Quagliarella offside, which led to Quagliarella rolling the ball cavalierly through Cech's legs. The Italians ended the game the stronger team, pressing for a winner as Chelsea's midfield wilted. With both Milan teams decomposing, Juventus will be Serie A's standard bearer this season.

JOHN TERRY: CAPTAIN, LEADER, LIABILITY?
The Chelsea captain proved he is not only a liability during the handshake ceremonies. His lack of pace forces the Chelsea defensive line to play so deep, it sucks the midfield back into the vacuum and offers attackers seams of space between the lines. Terry was also at fault for the Juventus equalizer, electing to push forward and catch Quagliarella offside, allowing the Italian to stroll in on goal unchallenged. Before the game, Roberto Di Matteo talked about his team seriously threatening to “achieve the impossible” and defend its title. He will have some difficult decisions to make about his back line if he intends to make the same claim ahead of Chelsea's next game against FC Nordsjælland in Denmark.