Spurs KO-ed in 3 minutes
There is simply no substitute for experience in the highest tier of European football as Juventus proved by coming back from the abyss to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 and reach the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The Italians were outplayed by Spurs in a 2-2 first-leg draw in Turin and were on the ropes at Wembley but goals by Argentine strike duo Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala in three minutes sent them through 4-3 on aggregate.
Son Heung-min's first-half goal had Spurs in control and dreaming of a famous scalp but they paid for two defensive lapses as their 17-match unbeaten run came to an end.
Higuain, who scored twice in the first leg, levelled in the 64th minute before Dybala burst clear to curl the winner past Hugo Lloris.
Tottenham will rue missed chances and Harry Kane's last-minute header against the post.
"In less than three minutes we conceded two goals - two big mistakes - and that is why we are out," manager Mauricio Pochettino told reporters. "In both legs we deserved more.
"We played fantastic football until that first goal and we dominated. Of course we are very disappointed but it is part of growing. We will keep going."
Juve were made to suffer at Wembley, but never raised the white flag despite a dugout deprived of any outright attackers.
"In the first leg I was criticised for my substitutions and today you are congratulating me for them? It's the players who win matches. Me, I make mistakes and I sometimes try to repair them," Massimiliano Allegri said.
Afterwards, Giorgio Chiellini's assertion that Tottenham "always miss something to arrive at the end" would have hit a nerve for Spurs fans. Chiellini's verdict was harsh, and perhaps not entirely accurate, but coming from one of the greats of European football they cannot simply be ignored.
"It's the history of Tottenham. They always created many chances to score so much, but at the end they miss always something at the end. We believe in the history. We saw it yesterday between Paris and Real, the history is important, with experience it is important, and tonight we used our skill and arrived at the win."
He added: "We knew Tottenham have fantastic players, and are an amazing side, but we know they concede many chances every game."
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