07 March 2018
It took three second-half minutes for Juventus to turn their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie against Tottenham Hotspur completely on its head thanks to an instinctive finish from Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala's clinical match winner to hand the Bianconeri a famous 2-1 victory at Wembley.
Combined with the 2-2 draw from the first leg, Juve are through to the quarter-finals in stunning fashion with a 4-3 aggregate success.
Playing in front of a packed Wembley Stadium, Tottenham went close to scoring as early as the third minute when Son Heung-min was able to get a shot away in the box, however Gianluigi Buffon was equal to it as he denied the South Korean with a dive to his left.
Juve went up the other end in search of a response of their own, and minutes after Douglas Costa had a penalty shout turned away, Buffon was again at it to stop Son as the legendary number one punched his header clear.
However, it was third time lucky for Son as he was in the right place at the right time when Kieran Trippier put in a ball across the box following a cleared shot and the Spurs winger was able to give the home side the lead just minutes before half-time struck.
The Bianconeri had their first shot of the night two minutes later, when a promising attack led to Miralem Pjanic unleashing a shot on the edge of the box just wide of the target but that was to be all the visitors could muster in an uninspiring first half.
Things were about to dramatically change in the second period, however, as Juve seemed to find themselves more settled when Massimiliano Allegri brought on Stephan Lichtsteiner and Kwadwo Asamoah. It got even more telling in the 64th minute when Lichtsteiner sent in a cross from the right and Sami Khedira got his head on the ball to flick it into the path of Higuain, whose deft touch with the outside of his boot found the back of the net to pull Juve level on the night and hand the Old Lady a much-needed shot in the arm!
It would be a stunning double salvo as three minutes later an Argentine one-two between Higuain and Dybala saw Pipita set La Joya away with an inch-perfect through ball. Dybala kept his cool to slot part Hugo Lloris in the Tottenham goal and spark wild celebrations amongst the Juve contingent.
Allegri's men defended resolutely to protect their lead for the remainder of the match as they weathered several storms, not least in the 90th minute as Harry Kane’s header was palmed onto the post by Buffon with Andrea Barzagli first on the scene to hack it off the line and prevent a certain equaliser. The Bianconeri dug in and held firm to produce a sensational comeback and book their passage into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Juventus will learn their final eight opponents on Friday 16 March, while Allegri’s side next take to the pitch this Sunday in Serie A action against Udinese (15.00 CET).
What a night at Wembley!
