Malta Independent

Juventus comes back to beat Tottenham

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Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala scored twice inside three minutes as Juventus stunned Tottenham to reach the Champions League quarterfin­als with a 2-1 victory yesterday.

Building on the 2-2 draw secured in Turin in the last-16 first leg, Tottenham was in control against last season's finalists in the first half when Son Heungmin scored at Wembley Stadium.

But Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino failed to respond to the tactical shift after Juventus' substituti­ons in the second half and was left reeling when a pair of fellow Argentines ended the north London team's European campaign.

Juventus advanced 4-3 on aggregate.

Higuain began the comeback in the 64th minute from close range and then created the winner, holding off three Tottenham players before feeding Dybala to net his first Champions League goal of the season.

From a position of strength, this was a capitulati­on stemming from a loss of concentrat­ion and composure by the hosts.

There was one chance to force the game into extra time in the 90th. Harry Kane's header hit the post and the ball crept across Gianluigi Buffon's goal line before being hooked clear by Andrea Barzagli.

Tottenham, which beat holder Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in the group stage, became the first English side to be eliminated in the Champions League this season.

Liverpool advanced Tuesday and Manchester City went through on Wednesday with a 52 victory over Basel despite losing 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

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