Juventus don’t usually concede at home, and they certainly don’t throw away leads.
The Italian side had never lost a two-goal lead at the Juventus Stadium, their home since 2011, before Tuesday night. Yet, Tottenham managed to come from two goals down in their Champions League last-16 first leg tie in Turin.
Juventus had conceded just once in their previous 16 games, and none in 2018 until Harry Kane went past Gianluigi Buffon and scored with his left foot.
When Gonzalo Higuain scored twice in the opening 10 minutes, it appeared the Italian champions were on course for the quarter-finals. But Spurs were brilliant, and dominated the final 80 minutes of the match. Christian Eriksen’s goal from a free-kick 20 minutes before the end gave Mauricio Pochettino’s side a deserved draw, and the advantage in the tie with two away goals. Higuain may have missed a second penalty just before half-time, but a Juventus win would have been extremely harsh on Spurs.
Mousa Dembele was central to all of Tottenham’s positive play. The Belgian midfielder was flawless, controlling the game from deep and linking up with Eriksen throughout. Dembele ran the game, brushing off Juventus players who tried to get close to him and dribbling out of tight spots, his passes forward was crisp and incisive, and he won the ball back to restart moves.
The Boss. Mousa Dembele. Might be called a genius again by his manager.
116 touches
99 passes (95%)
7 dribbles (86%)
4 tackles (100%)
2 chances created
1 interceptionDembele on Saturday: “It’s easy to play in this team. All very fit, same manager, same philosophy.” #thfc pic.twitter.com/NCcVobw7GG
— Kristof Terreur (@kristofterreur) February 13, 2018
Dembele has regularly dominated games in the Premier League, neither Arsenal or Manchester United could get close to him in recent matches. But it was quite impressive to see the Spurs midfielder control a tie against elite European opposition at this stage of the Champions League. At times it looked like he was just playing five-a-side with his mates, such was the ease with which he bossed the game.
The midfielder received widespread praise for his performance on social media.
FT: 2-2. Mousa Dembele’s last four top-level games were against Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool and Juventus, and he was probably man of the match in all four.
— Tom Collomosse (@TomCollomosse) February 13, 2018
I think the best description of Moussa Dembele is that he, somehow, moves like water. Really unique player.
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) February 13, 2018
Dembele is the best player I’ve played against in my position and he’s showing why right now 🔥🔥🔥🔥
— Adam Clayton (@Clayts15) February 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/SmithySoccerAM/status/963532943535824896
Dembele has been so…slick…the last few games. A real joy to watch. pic.twitter.com/TKZv3NP5ji
— Michael Cox (@Zonal_Marking) February 13, 2018
And the BT Sport pundits were impressed.
Gerrard: "On that stage, I thought he was terrific all night."
Rio: "He's dictating the tempo from deep better than anyone at the moment."
Hoddle: "And he goes past people, that opens up the space."
Mousa Dembele's performance earned rave reviews in the studio 💪 pic.twitter.com/EvCtNanCAv
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 13, 2018
A highlights clip posted on Twitter following the game shows just how brilliant Dembele was. Juventus couldn’t get anywhere near him.
You can watch the clip here:
https://twitter.com/btlcomps/status/963557553069228032
