Chelsea on brink of exit after Juventus defeat

TURIN, Italy (REUTERS) - Titleholders Chelsea were on the brink of an unprecedented group stage exit in the Champions League after being overpowered 3-0 at Serie A leaders Juventus in a rousing atmosphere on Tuesday.

Fabio Quagliarella broke the deadlock with a fortuitous goal seven minutes before halftime and Arturo Vidal capped another dynamic performance by side-footing the second just after the hour thanks to another deflection. Sebastian Giovinco struck in stoppage time.

With Shakhtar Donetsk qualifying with a 5-2 win at Nordsjaelland in the other Group E match, Juventus need only a point to go through when they visit the Ukrainian champions in their final game next month.

Chelsea's only hope is to beat Nordsjaelland and hope Shakhtar defeat the Serie A champions, otherwise they will become the first defending champions to go out in the group stage since the Champions League began.