The champions of Europe enjoyed a victory over one of the great clubs of the continent and one that had a distinctly homemade flavour to it: three of their four goals from young graduates of the Chelsea academy flourishing under the strict tutelage of their German principal.

Thomas Tuchel was 10 yards on to the pitch when the third goal from Callum Hudson-Odoi struck the net before the hour, the Chelsea manager punching the air in a fervour as his team unlocked Juventus for the second time in the space of a few minutes. This was a memorable period from his side when the confidence flowed and a seasoned Juventus back four including Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs de Ligt could not cope with the passing of the blue shirts in front of them.

This is not the Juventus of the past, that great grinding machine that dominated Italian football, and nearly Europe too, is now eighth in Serie A – and yet it is still Juventus. Still the club for whom the notion of being passed around for fun and conceding three goals to youngsters and one from the reliably misfiring Timo Werner is about as comfortable as them abandoning the black and white stripes. For Chelsea it was one of those days that vindicated years of heavy academy investment and careful nurturing.

Not just one of their own for the home crowd at Stamford Bridge but five of them with substitutes Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount joining the action over the course of the evening, as well as the three goalscorers, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James and Hudson-Odoi – who all started. They dominated a very cautious Juventus from the start, with 21 attempts on the Italian goal and perhaps might have scored more. It is still a side balanced nicely between the young ones and the likes of Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger who both played a key part in the win.

So too Ben Chilwell, the creator of James’ goal who would later go off in some discomfort having injured his knee in a tumble with 20 minutes left. N’Golo Kante had been replaced in the first half by Loftus-Cheek and both will be considered doubts for the visit of Manchester United on Sunday. On Chilwell, Tuchel said the initial concern was that his left-back was “in a lot of pain”. “Now he feels a bit better,” he said, and Chilwell will be examined on Wednesday. Kante’s “twisted knee” sounded potentially less serious.

Chelsea now lead Group H by goal difference from Juventus and both have qualified for the knockout round. It will go down to the final round of games in two weeks’ time to determine the seeded top spot in the group. Chelsea are away at Zenit St Petersburg and Juventus have the easier game at home to bottom place Malmo.

“A strong performance,” Tuchel said later. “We knew we had to be patient and at the same time responsible for the rhythm and the intensity. We had to take care of the details when we accelerated the game and be sharper – the team did this. A great performance from everyone”. If that sound complicated his pride at the academy players was straightforward. “The crowd loves it and I’m absolutely convinced everyone loves it,” he said. “This is what makes teams special. Not only the superstars from abroad which we have – it is the mix [of players].”

It is the week of the fallen giants of Europe at Stamford Bridge with United on Sunday and before that the team that used to rule Italy.  Max Allegri’s side had been on a small two-game winning streak revival of late although it would have been hard to tell on the evidence of this game. They arrived in London having already qualified for the knockout round. They were not an assertive side, against a Chelsea team that had no Romelu Lukaku, and they paid the price.

The giants in the centre of the Juventus midfield, Manuel Locatelli and Rodrigo Bentancur, as well as Adrien Rabiot stationed out wide, struggled to do much more than defend. Thiago Silva valiantly cleared Alvaro Morata’s effort away from goal on 25 minutes after the former Chelsea striker had lofted it over Edouard Mendy, but that was it.

The Juventus players disputed the first goal scored by Chalobah when a corner struck Rudiger and fell to the young defender for the third goal of his breakthrough season. It struck Rudiger on the hand but Chelsea were spared the Var review because of the handball law change from the start of this season. The removal from the laws of accidental handball that leads to a team-mate’s goal as an offence meant the Spanish Var Alejandro Hernandez was allowed to wave it through. Bonucci also seemed to complain he was shoved at the vital moment.

James, who had dominated the right side, scored a brilliant second after a pulsating start to the second half from the home side. Chelsea switched the ball out left and from Chilwell’s cross, half-cleared, James took the ball on his chest and launched a thunderous half-volley past Wojciech Szczesny with his reliable right foot.

A magnificent finish and the third goal that arrived three minutes later was just as good. From James on the right to Hakim Ziyech, who had found his touch, to Loftus-Cheek and then to Hudson-Odoi on the left side to tuck it away. Unable to stop the passing and comprehensively embarrassed, this famous Juventus defence was left staring into space in the aftermath. This was Chelsea’s best period of the game and the crowd loved it.

“Another excellent day for the academy,” Tuchel said later. “Full credit to them. I believe strongly it’s a huge part of our success, this mix between homegrown talents and top players.” His team should have scored more and eventually they got the fourth through substitute Werner in the fifth minute of time added on, just his third of the season for Chelsea. There was even a brief glimpse of Saul Niguez as a substitute. Although all the big names bought by one of English football’s most acquisitive clubs were overshadowed by the local lads.