Higuain, Dybala stun Spurs to send wily Juve through

LONDON (Reuters): 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 quarter-finals on Wednesday.

The Italians, finalists in two of the last three seasons, 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 of a static Spurs defensive line to curl the winner past Hugo Lloris.

Tottenham will rue missed chances and Harry Kane’s last-minute header against the post but MassimilianoAllegri’s streetwise Juve side proved they are still one of the toughest of European nuts to crack.

Juventus held on to record their first knockout win against an English club in the competition in five attempts.

“Winning here was not easy but we did it and I’m really proud of this team,” Higuain said. “Once again we showed great character.”

Juventus hailed as ‘the lions of Wembley’

Rome (AFP): Juventus were hailed as “the lions of Wembley” by the Italian media on Thursday after the Serie A side’s stunning fightback against Tottenham to reach the Champions League quarter-finals. 

Massimiliano Allegri’s side were on the brink of elimination after Son Heung-Min’s first-half strike put Spurs ahead at their temporary home of Wembley on Wednesday. But, despite being completely outplayed in the opening period, Juventus got back in the game after the break and equalised through Gonzalo Higuain. 

That was the decisive moment as Tottenham suddenly went to pieces, allowing the Italian champions to score again two minutes and 49 seconds later as Paulo Dybala punished poor defending with a cool finish. 

All three Italian sports dailies sung from the same hymn book, with the headline in both the Gazzetto dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport acclaiming “the Lions of Wembley”, while for Tuttosport Juve were simply ‘Lions’. 

And the abiding image of a gripping game was the sight of their two aged roaring lions, 40-year-old keeper Gianluigi Buffon and 33-year-old Giorgio Chiellini, face to face, after the veteran central defender made a crucial tackle on Spurs striker Harry Kane.