Although the visitors were unlucky that Higuain was not ruled offside, the opening goal showcased Tottenham’s bad start as the Argentine striker found himself unmarked in the box.
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“If anyone thought that Juventus would win 4-0 this evening he was way off track”, AFP quoted Allegri as saying, after his more experienced side threw away a dream start with two Gonzalo Higuain goals inside 10 minutes to end with a 2-2 draw in front of their frustrated fans at the Allianz Stadium.
“We all know el Pipita [Higuain]”, Lamela told reporters. “We don’t care where we are or what time it is or which stadium we play in or which we team we play, we always try to dominate…”
“We could have capitulated, away from home in the Champions League. I feel so proud”. In the second half, the 40-year old was beaten far too easily by an Eriksen free-kick as his reflexes aren’t the same as they once were. Only seven minutes that it was hard to handle.
Tottenham mounted a remarkable comeback to deservedly draw at Juventus in the first leg of their round of 16 tie.
“The second leg in London is still some way off, so now we turn our attentions back to the league and Sunday’s derby against Torino”, the Juve boss said.
“I think we weren’t focused and it was hard to manage the first seven minutes”. I have to say Mousa Dembele was fantastic.
“This showed the team is more mature”.
“He represents our philosophy”. The Argentine’s team plays with his combative personality, never ready to give up and their refreshing approach despite going 2-0 down helped them salvage an incredible result. Fantastic night, great fight, great performance.
But Spurs stayed patient and dominated the next 80 minutes, coming away with a thoroughly credible 2-2 draw to take back to Wembley for the return fixture in three weeks’ time.
In a passionate speech after the match, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri warned against an overly critical reaction.
Speaking to the club website, Allegri said: “In any football match, you can have ups and downs”.
He said: ‘Even if Tottenham or Liverpool won the FA Cup, because of the power of the Champions League they would still be governed by how well they do in the Premier League.
“It’s something that makes me insane because you aren’t able to analyse how good teams are in the Champions League”.
The Juventus match was the latest in a string of Champions League results which have made the rest of Europe sit up and take note of Spurs and Pochettino. It is not like this.
In Basel, Manchester City all but assured themself of a place in the quarter- finals with a 4-0 win over Basel.
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“We knew that it was going to be a hard match”.
