Tottenham mounted an incredible comeback to draw 2-2 with Juventus in their Champions League last-16 tie in Turin.
Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen scored two vital away goals after a Gonzalo Higuain brace inside a chaotic nine minutes threatened to crush Spurs’ European dreams.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side couldn’t have got off to a worse start, with Dele Alli allowing Higuain space in the box with just 90 seconds on the clock. The Argentine hit the ball first-time from a haplessly-defended free-kick and scored a penalty minutes later, conceded by Ben Davies.
However, the Bianconeri simply failed to kill the game off and as expected, they allowed the Lilywhites, playing in their changed strip, plenty of the ball.
Kane eventually made them pay, rounding Gianluigi Buffon to slide home. Playing without fear, as boldly as Pochettino had promised, the north Londoners began to dictate the tempo.
Their hard work almost went to waste when Serge Aurier needlessly chopped down Douglas Costa in the box for the second spot-kick of the night. Higuain stepped up, but all he could do was put it onto the crossbar.
Spurs seized the opportunity, Eriksen sliding the ball under the wall from the set-piece to put his team on the front foot ahead of the return leg at Wembley.
Spurs’ mentality was (mostly) superb
Nobody has ever questioned the ability of Spurs’ relatively young squad; it’s their mentality that has been called into doubt on occasion. In the opening exchanges, they were sloppy and looked out of their depth, but how they bounced back from a two-goal deficit was exemplary. Juventus, supposedly the masters of game-management, were left to rue letting the visitors play their game in an atmosphere where many would have crumbled.
Harry Kane proved Juventus’ defence isn’t impenetrable
The Serie A champions had conceded just once in their last 15 games in all competitions. Mehdi Benatia and Giorgio Chiellini looked typically composed at first yet later, the former couldn’t cope with Kane. Likewise, Buffon made two decent saves from the 24-year-old, firstly blocking a header from close range before finger-tipping another shot wide. It was always going to take a truly special striker to break them down, even if they were unusually adopting four at the back until they changed it up midway through the second half. That was Kane’s 33rd goal of the season and his seventh of the competition so far.
Aurier was lucky his recklessness wasn’t punished
One suspects the former PSG right-back might be running out of chances. The Ivorian made the same mistake in the Bernabeu against Real Madrid and was sent off on his Premier League debut against West Ham. The Ivorian has been preferred to Kieran Trippier in Europe, presumably because of his time with the Ligue 1 giants and his experience in the big games. He won’t be playing in the second leg, however, as he got booked almost immediately as the second half started for a foul on Alex Sandro.
This is where Eriksen belongs
Long before his goal, the Dane was cutting through the back four with some pacey balls into the box. The playmaker was helped by Spurs’ comfort in the middle – the absence of Blaise Matuidi meant it was advantage Mousa Dembele there – and that extra freedom allowed Eriksen to shine. As his free-kick squeezed under Buffon it was no less than he deserved for another superb performance at the highest level.
