Tottenham 1-2 Juventus: Champions League highlights and recap

Juventus beat Tottenham 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday, March 7. Here are all the highlights from the match.

Juventus produced an extraordinary comeback at Wembley on Wednesday to knock Tottenham out of the Champions League, scoring two second-half goals to take the lead following Heung-min Son’s 39th minute strike. The goals, from Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala, came from the Old Lady’s first two shots on target.

Despite knowing a clean sheet would see them through, Tottenham pressed high early on and had by far the better of the chances in the first half. Harry Kane was heavily involved, playing in his teammates on several occasions and rounding Gianluigi Buffon in the 15th minute, only to hit his shot into the side netting.

Son was probably Spurs’ best player, however. The South Korean forced a good save from Buffon with a 20th-minute header, dragged a shot wide in the 38th minute and finally got on the score sheet in the 39th minute, bundling in at the back post following a Kieren Trippier cross. The goals was his fifth in his last three matches.

Perhaps the most significant moment in the half, though, came in Tottenham’s own penalty area, where, in the 17th minute, Jan Vertonghen appeared to foul Douglas Costa, only for the ref to wave play on. There was certainly contact, but Costa took a step before going to ground, which may have persuaded the ref it wasn’t a foul.

The Italian side had reason to feel hard done by, but if it had taken the lead from the spot, it wouldn’t have deserved it. Juve, lining up in 3-5-2, struggled to play through Tottenham’s press, and Higuain and Dybala were both peripheral. Only Costa posed a consistent threat, and he was easily outshined by Spurs’ attacking quartet.

The first 15 minutes of the second half were about as uneventful as Tottenham must have hoped. Juve looked toothless in attack, while Kane, Son, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen continued to get in decent attacking positions, though without creating any clear-cut chances. Son had the best of the opportunities, but curled wide of the target from inside the box.

Two substitutions changed the game, as Massimiliano Allegri brought on Kwadwo Asamoah and Stephan Lichsteiner for Blaise Matuidi and Medhi Benatia around the hour mark and switched to a back four. In the 64th minute, Lichsteiner provided the cross from which Higuain ultimately scored, poking in following Sami Khedira’s flick on. It was Juve’s first shot on target.

They scored with their second, this one from Dybala, played through by Higuain and untracked by Spurs’ back four. Hugo Lloris had no chance as the Argentine finished powerfully into the roof of the net. From there, it was a question of whether Juve could keep Tottenham out for the remaining 25 minutes of the match.

Thanks to some astonishing blocks from Giorgio Chiellini and co., they held out. Tottenham have reason to feel hard done by — they dominated the vast majority of the two legs — but this was a harsh reminder of what it takes to win at this level. Juve, though not at their best, know more than most.

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Highlights

The quarterfinal draw takes place on Friday, March 17.