Few would’ve backed Juventus to progress with half an hour remaining at Wembley.
Having surrendered a 2-0 lead in the first leg to Tottenham, Son Heung-min’s first half opener appeared to have the Italian champions on the ropes. Worryingly, from Massimiliano Allegri’s point of view, his team had created little in the way of clear cut opportunities.
And so, with Spurs fans daring to believe that a spot in the Champions League quarter finals might actually be theirs, they were given a reminder of how utterly ruthless and unforgiving this competition can be.
Stephan Lichtsteiner, brought on as a Juve sub only minutes earlier to help give the Italian giants width in their attack, floated a cross into the Spurs box. Sami Khedira’s header helped it on towards the back post, where Gonzalo Higuain, who had endured a mixed night in Turin a fortnight ago, prodded home.
Suddenly, the majority of those under the Wembley Arch weren’t feeling so sure about their team’s chances of progression.
Minutes later, Higuain received the ball on the edge of the centre circle, back to the Tottenham goal. Having turned, he threaded a ball through a gap in the home side’s defence, finding the run of Paulo Dybala perfectly. Just as he had done in the dying minutes at the weekend, Dybala kept his nerve. With Hugo Lloris swiftly off his line to close him down, the Argentine lifted it over him and into the far corner of the goal.
And from here, the result was never really in doubt.
Suddenly, a defence that had looked stretched and weary at stages during the first half were looking solid, organised and disciplined. Juventus had got what they needed, and they were quite happy to choke the life out of the rest of the tie.
Undoubtedly, this was cruel on Tottenham. As easy on the eye as their football has been at times during this European campaign, they were rightly saluted for the sheer balls and resilience they showed in salvaging a draw after their disastrous opening ten minutes in the first leg. After the disappointment of their last Champions League season, there was a sense that this might have been the performance that showed they had come of age in the tournament – able to marry the fancy stuff with a bit of grit and fight. Four costly minutes at Wembley revealed that sadly, there’s still work to be done.
“Top sides, they just find a way,” Steven Gerrard had remarked in his post-match analysis. He was dead right. Juve had not been at their best over the two legs – far from it. Crucially though, they’d stayed in the tie and, somehow, they had found a way.
Call it experience, tactical nous or whatever you see fit, it is they that will progress to the last eight.
