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Commentary
Minute
Description
90' +2
K. Asamoah enters the game and replaces Douglas Costa.
V. Wanyama enters the game and replaces C. Eriksen.
Tottenham have made another late alteration, with Eriksen making way for Wanyama.
Meanwhile, Asamoah has replaced Costa for the home side.
90' +1
Lucas quickly gets involved in the thick of the action after picking up the ball in a promising position out wide. He immediately knocks it down the right wing and towards Aurier, who tries to get the better of Sandro but, as has been the case for the majority of this evening, fails to do so.
90'
The fourth official has indicated that there will be two minutes of added time.
89'
Lucas Moura enters the game and replaces É. Lamela.
Lamela has made way for Lucas, who comes on to make his Tottenham debut.
87'
Vital interception by Vertonghen! Costa showcases his wonderful speed as he skips past three players over on the left wing. He makes his way into the penalty area and tries to pick out Higuain with a low cross, but Vertonghen is just about able to poke the ball into the side-netting before the striker can reach it.
85'
Benatia goes close! De Sciglio gets into a good position out wide and fires in a low cross that Vertonghen is forced into blasting behind for a corner. It's whipped into the middle of the box and finds Benatia, who gets the better of his marker but can't quite hit the target with his bullet header.
83'
Son Heung-Min enters the game and replaces D. Alli.
Tottenham have made a late change, and it's an attacking one. Son has come on to replace Alli as his side try to find a third goal.
82'
Juventus haven't look at their best for most of the evening, and they've struggled to cause too many problems for the visitors since the break. They're able to break forward and win themselves a corner over on the left flank, but it fails to trouble the Tottenham back line and is easily cleared at the near post.
80'
R. Bentancur gets yellow.
Bentancur is fouled over on the right wing, but the referee waves away his pleas for a free-kick and allows play to go on. The Uruguayan then flies into Davies and catches the full-back with a late sliding challenge, leaving the referee with no choice but to book him.
78'
Slightly sloppy play by Tottenham gifts possession to the home side, allowing them to burst forward on a swift counter-attack. Higuain heads towards the penalty area and tees up Bernardeschi, who shoots but can't get the better of Lloris with his deflected effort.
Minute
Description
76'
S. Sturaro enters the game and replaces M. Mandžukić.
Mandzukic hasn't look at all comfortable since picking up a knock earlier in the half, and he's finally made way for Sturaro.
75'
Higuain breaks down the left flank and looks set to penetrate the penalty area, but Dembele, who has put in a great shift this evening, sprints back to deal with the striker before he's able to do so. Juventus are really struggling to find much joy when pushing forward.
73'
Tottenham quickly win the ball back from the restart and burst down the left wing. Aurier gets himself into a good position and takes on Sandro, but he ends up fouling the Brazilian full-back from behind as they battle for the ball and he can't win his side a corner.
71'
C. Eriksen has scored a goal for Tottenham Hotspur!
GOAL! Tottenham have equalised! Alli dances his way towards the hosts' penalty area before being clumsily fouled by Chiellini, leaving the referee with no choice but to award Tottenham a free-kick in a very dangerous position. Eriksen steps up and shoots, and his low shot is whipped straight into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
70'
Great shot by Kane! The striker drops out of the Juventus box and into a pocket of space. He then tries to catch out Buffon with a low strike, and it's one that the goalkeeper is just about able to push away with a less than convincing save.
68'
Juventus break out of their own half of the pitch and win themselves a free-kick in a promising position. Pjanic steps up and curls a cross into the middle of the penalty area, but it's overhit and ends up bouncing into the hands of Lloris.
66'
R. Bentancur enters the game and replaces S. Khedira.
Juventus have made their first substitution of the evening, with Khedira making way for the more defence-minded Bentancur.
65'
A clever chipped pass flies over the Tottenham back line and over to the far post, where it finds Alli. The England international quickly tries to flick the ball back to a team-mate, but Benatia is there to make sure none of them can latch onto it.
64'
Aurier bursts down the right wing once again as he tries to find his way into the Juventus box, but once again he's unable to do so. Mandzukic has put in a fantastic shift this evening, and he's doing really well to deal with the Ivorian deep inside the Tottenham half of the pitch.
62'
Mandzukic charges down the left flank and does well to win the hosts a corner under pressure from Sanchez. The set-piece is a well-executed one, but Chiellini can't quite get his head on the ball at the near post and Tottenham are able to hold on.
60'
G. Higuaín gets yellow.
Higuain tries to muscle his way through a sea of Tottenham players but goes down under a tackle from Vertonghen, leaving him incredibly angry with the referee. The striker vehemently believes he should have been awarded a free-kick, and he's shown a yellow card for his protests.
58'
What a chance for Mandzukic! The resulting set-piece is curled into the heart of the box and perfectly picks out Mandzukic, who rises high and meets the ball well but can only send his headed effort into the hands of Lloris.
57'
Vital stop by Lloris! Bernardeschi is left all alone over on the right wing, allowing him to skip into the penalty area and take on Davies. He easily gets the better of the full-back and shoots, but Lloris is there to tip the ball behind for a corner with a great diving save.
55'
A slightly overhit cross from Eriksen should be easily cleared by Chiellini, but the defender can only nod the ball straight to Kane. The striker quickly sends it over to Aurier, who tries to burst towards the box but is let down by a heavy touch.
53'
A poorly executed attempted header from Sanchez fails to find a team-mate and sails straight to Higuain. The striker heads towards the box, spins and knocks the ball back to Bernardeschi, who shoots but can't guide his strike past Sanchez inside the penalty area.
51'
Chiellini slips and loses the ball over on the left flank, allowing Tottenham to quickly counter-attack. Alli sprints towards the halfway line before trying to work the ball over to Eriksen, but the Dane's first touch is poor and denies him the opportunity to get it under control.
49'
Higuain darts through the middle of the pitch before working the ball over to Sandro. The full-back is in plenty of space and whips a cross into the penalty area, but Lloris is there to punch the ball away from danger.
47'
S. Aurier gets yellow.
A poor touch from Aurier allows Sandro to pick up the ball and bomb down the left wing. He's quickly, and cynically, fouled by the Ivorian, though, and the Tottenham defender is shown a yellow card that will keep him out of the return leg.
46'
We're underway once again!
45' +2
MISS! Higuain can't wrap up his hat-trick! The striker goes for power and tries to beat Lloris down the middle of the goal, but his thumping strike is fired straight onto the crossbar after the goalkeeper remained rooted to the spot. What a huge moment!
45' +1
PENALTY! It's another for Juventus! Costa has struggled to get involved in the game tonight, but he just showcased his great pace to win his hosts another penalty. He skipped into the left-hand corner of the box and took on Aurier, who brought the Brazilian down to the ground with a rash sliding challenge and left the referee with no choice but to point to the spot again.
45'
M. Benatia gets yellow.
A lofted pass is fired into the Juventus half of the pitch and towards Kane, who does well to reach the ball ahead of Benatia before being clattered into from behind by the Moroccan. The defender initially thinks he's got away with it, but the referee ends up showing him a yellow card.
43'
Aurier pops up deep down the right flank and fires a low cross into the Juventus penalty area, where it's deflected towards Chiellini and behind for a corner. The resulting set-piece is a decent one, but Kane is penalised for a push on Mandzukic as they battle for the ball.
41'
Chance for Alli! Eriksen is left in a pocket of space deep inside the Juventus half of the pitch and lifts a lovely pass into the heart of the penalty area. It's beautifully placed and picks out Alli, who rises high but can't quite hit the target with his headed effort.
39'
Decent effort by Eriksen! A clumsy challenge results in a free-kick for Tottenham midway inside the hosts' half of the pitch, and it's one that's quickly taken and sent to Eriksen. The Dane then unleashes a shot from 30 yards out, and it's one that forces Buffon into making a slightly nervy save at the near post.
37'
Costa bursts through the middle of the Tottenham defence and tries to latch onto a lofted pass, but he's dealt with well by Sanchez before the linesman's flag is correctly raised for offside.
35'
H. Kane has scored a goal for Tottenham Hotspur! Assist by D. Alli.
That was a really clever pass from Alli, but Juventus should have done much better defensively. They've arguably been punished for being too negative, and they're now in real danger of having their once-comfortable lead wiped out.
GOAL! Tottenham have pulled one back! Juventus aren't good enough on the ball when counter-attacking, allowing the visitors to win back possession and quickly push forward. Alli sends a clever pass through the Bianconeri's back line and towards Kane, who comfortably rounds Buffon before slotting the ball into the back of the net. Game on!
34'
Tottenham may have suffered a disastrous start to the evening but they're certainly still in this. Juventus have arguably dropped too deep, and they've allowed their opponents to get back in the game. Gaps are starting to open up, and Spurs are doing well to make them count.
32'
And now Kane goes close! Once again, a well-placed pass splits the Juventus defence in two and picks out Kane, who forces Buffon into making a smart diving save with his quickly taken low shot.
30'
Excellent chance for Higuain to make it 3-0! After dealing with the danger, the home side burst forward on a quick counter-attack. Higuain breaks into the box, spins around two players and shoots, but his low strike ends up fizzing just past the post after leaving Lloris rooted to the spot.
29'
Fantastic sliding tackle by De Sciglio! Dembele muscles his way through a sea of Juventus players before poking a pass straight to Alli. The attacking midfielder is in a wonderful position in front of goal, but just as he's about to pull the trigger, he's dispossessed by a wonderful interception from De Sciglio.
28'
A clumsy sliding challenge from Bernardeschi sends Lamela tumbling to the ground and results in a free-kick for the visitors in a promising position just outside of the box. Eriksen's cross hits the wall but the ball bounces back to the Dane, who unleashes a follow-up shot that sails several yards wide of the far post.
26'
What a save by Buffon! A wonderful pass from Eriksen is fired over the top of the Juventus back line and right onto the head of Kane. The striker is all alone and only has Buffon to beat, but the goalkeeper pulls off a spectacular save to deny Tottenham a way back into the game.
25'
Another big block by Chiellini! A cross-field pass is launched over to the left wing and finds Davies in a pocket of space. The full-back immediately volleys a cross into the heart of the box and towards Alli, who sprints towards the ball but loses out to a great piece of defending from Chiellini.
23'
Tottenham are comfortably bossing possession at the moment, but they're struggling to do much with it. With two goals under their belts, Juventus look perfectly happy to sit deep and soak up the pressure being put on them, and it's a tactic that's working perfectly.
21'
Kane drifts out wide and whips a deep cross over to the far post, where De Sciglio is forced into nodding the ball behind for a corner. Lamela's cross into the penalty area is a good one, but Chiellini reaches it ahead of Kane before being fouled by the striker, much to the annoyance of the Englishman.
19'
Vital interception by Benatia! Juventus lose the ball once again and Tottenham immediately hit them on a counter-attack. Alli breaks into the home side's half of the pitch out wide and tries to pick out Kane with a quickly taken through-ball, but Benatia is there to latch onto the ball with an outstretched leg.
17'
Kane goes down inside the penalty area, but nothing is given! Higuain loses out to Vertonghen and Tottenham are able to counter-attack quickly. Alli sprints into the Juventus box before knocking the ball over to Kane, who immediately goes down under a tackle from Benatia. He quickly turns to the referee and screams for a penalty, but the man in charge isn't at all interested and instead awards the hosts a goal-kick.
15'
A misplaced clearance from Buffon flies over to Eriksen, who quickly storms down the right flank and sends a cross into the box. He can't quite pick out Kane, however, as Chiellini is there to beat the striker to the ball.
13'
The visitors keep patiently knocking the ball around as they try to find a way through the sea of white and black camped in front of them. They're unable to do so, though, as Eriksen's chipped pass over to Davies is well dealt with by the head of Bernardeschi.
11'
Tottenham are able to string together a decent series of passes before Davies wins a corner off De Sciglio. Lamela steps up and curls a cross towards the near post, where Higuain is easily able to clear the danger.
9'
Penalty goal scored by G. Higuaín for Juventus!
GOAL! Lloris is able to get a hand on the ball, but he can't keep Higuain's curling shot from finding the bottom left-hand corner of the net. What a start for Juventus!
8'
B. Davies gets yellow.
PENALTY! It's gone from bad to worse for Tottenham! Bernardeschi charges into the penalty area and latches onto a chipped pass before being caught late by Davies, leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the spot.
7'
Slightly sloppy play by the home side allows Tottenham to push forward on their first decent attacking move of the night. They're unable to make it count, though, as Dembele's pass towards Lamela fails to find the Argentine and is easily cut out by De Sciglio.
5'
Almost a chance for Khedira! Another well-weighted pass is fired over the top of the Tottenham defence and towards Khedira, who breaks into the penalty area and tries to get a shot away but is closed down by Vertonghen before he's able to do so.
4'
Juventus quickly go on the front foot once again after winning the ball back from the restart, but Mandzukic's run down the left wing is slightly mistimed and he's flagged offside as he latches onto a deft flick from Higuain.
2'
G. Higuaín has scored a goal for Juventus! Assist by M. Pjanić.
That was a lovely piece of skill by Pjanic, who completely took the Tottenham back line by surprise. Nobody tracked the run of Higuain, leaving the striker in acres of space inside the penalty area.
GOAL! What a start for the home side! Juventus immediately go on the front and win themselves a free-kick midway inside the Tottenham half of the pitch. It's chipped in by Pjanic and finds Higuain all alone, setting up the Argentine to beat Lloris with a brilliant volley.
1'
We're off! Juventus get us underway, attacking from left to right.
Good evening and welcome to our live text commentary of today’s Champions League last-16 first leg between Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur at the Allianz Stadium.
Tottenham thoroughly impressed during the group stage, with commanding performances against the likes of Borussia Dortmund and reigning champions Real Madrid making everyone sit up and take notice. Mauricio Pochettino’s men are yet to taste defeat in Europe this season, and a 12-game unbeaten run across all competitions has left them in a buoyant mood heading into tonight’s huge clash.
The north London side suffered a slightly wobbly start to the campaign but have been in fantastic form in recent weeks, leaving them just two points off third place in the Premier League. They prepared for this evening’s game with a morale-boosting derby victory at home to fierce rivals Arsenal, while a hard-earned draw against Liverpool in their last away tie means they are unbeaten in five games on the road.
Tonight’s clash is set to be one of their most difficult of the season, though, as they’re taking on a Juventus side that have reached two of the last three Champions League finals. Similarly to Spurs, the Bianconeri weren’t at their best earlier in the campaign but are now in near-unstoppable form, with only Barcelona and Inter being able to hold them to draws during their currently ongoing 16-game unbeaten run.
Juventus’ excellent recent form has seen them come away with wins from all of their previous 11 games, and during that time they’ve conceded just once while bagging themselves 23 goals. After falling at the last possible hurdle on two separate occasions, Massimiliano Allegri’s men will be desperate to go all the way this year, and they certainly have a talent-filled squad fully capable of doing so.
Tottenham boast one of Europe’s deadliest attacks, however, meaning that tonight’s game is set to push the Juventus defence right to the limit. This evening’s tie also marks the first time these two sides have met in a competitive encounter, although Spurs did come away as winners in a pre-season clash at Wembley six months ago. Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen both scored that day and will certainly be ones to watch this evening.
There’s just under 15 minutes left to go until kick-off, so let’s have a look at how the two teams will be lining up tonight…
Tottenham Hotspur substitutes: Paulo Gazzaniga, Danny Rose, Kieran Trippier, Victor Wanyama, Moussa Sissoko, Lucas Moura, Son Heung-Min.
Tottenham Hotspur XI (4-2-3-1): Hugo Lloris; Serge Aurier, Jan Vertonghen, Davinson Sanchez, Ben Davies; Mousa Dembele, Eric Dier; Erik Lamela, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen; Harry Kane.
Juventus XI (4-2-3-1): Gianluigi Buffon; Mattia De Sciglio, Medhi Benatia, Giorgio Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Sami Khedira, Miralem Pjanic; Federico Bernardeschi, Mario Mandzukic, Douglas Costa; Gonzalo Higuain.
Massimiliano Allegri has decided to make two changes to the Juventus side that beat Fiorentina on Friday evening, with De Sciglio and Costa coming into the starting line-up to replace Stephan Lichtsteiner and Marchisio.
Meanwhile, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has also made two alterations to the team that featured in their last outing, with Trippier and Son making way for Aurier and Lamela
The two sides are making their way out onto the pitch, with just a few minutes to go until kick-off.
HALF-TIME: JUVENTUS 2-1 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
What a fantastic first half that was! Juventus enjoyed the perfect start to the evening with two early goals, but Tottenham did wonderfully well to get back in the game and take advantage of the hosts' negativity. The game remains on a knife edge thanks to a well-taken goal by Kane, and Higuain's late penalty miss has handed the visitors a really good chance to find an equaliser after the break.
The two teams are making their way back out on to the pitch ahead of the start of the second half. Neither side have made any substitutions during the half-time break.
FULL-TIME: JUVENTUS 2-2 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Many would have been expecting Tottenham to find themselves on the receiving end of an absolute thrashing after suffering such a miserable start to the game, but they showed great grit and determination to fight back and leave with a well-deserved draw under their belts. Juventus struggled for most of the night and were made to pay for their negative approach, leaving them in desperate need of a positive performance at Wembley to avoid crashing out of the competition.
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