WATCH: Higuain, Dybala Score Back to Back to Help Juventus Oust Tottenham in UCL
Tottenham was on the verge of its first Champions League quarterfinal in seven years, but a gut-punch five-minute span sent Spurs crashing out of the competition and Juventus on to the next round.
Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala scored in the 64th and 67th minutes to give Juventus a 4-3 aggregate triumph over Tottenham at Wembley Stadium and send the Italian power on the quarterfinals. Harry Kane hit the post on a header in the 90th minute, and the ensuing rebound was cleared off the line, when a goal would have forced extra time.
Tottenham had battled back from a 2-0 deficit to Juventus in the opening leg in Turin, overcoming two early Higuain goals thanks to Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen. Tottenham came out on fire in the second leg and for the better part of an hour looked like the team that would advance.
Heung-min Son forced the first save of the game after Kane won the ball at the edge of the final third. He sprayed it wide for the South Korean star, who whipped a powerful shot at Gianluigi Buffon. The veteran goalkeeper swatted it to safety, though, keeping it 0-0 on the day in the third minute.
Tottenham had another great chance in the 15th minute, with Dele Alli springing Kane through the Juventus back line and by the flat-footed Giorgio Chiellini. Kane rounded Buffon but was forced into a tough angle, and he fired his chance into the side netting.
Juventus had penalty shouts denied in the 18th minute when Jan Vertonghen embarked on a risky challenge and appeared to take down Douglas Costa in the box. The referee didn't make the call, though, much to the dismay of the visiting side.
On the ensuing sequence, Tottenham nearly scored, with desperation defending and an eventual save from Buffon on Son's header keeping Spurs from getting on the board.
Alli had a chance in the 32nd minute, when a clearance attempt bounced up for him some 25 yards out, but he fired his first-time volley directly at Buffon, who made another save.
Son came inches from the opener in the 39th, taking a pass from Ben Davies and making a move to get Chiellini off balance before firing wide across the goal mouth.
Son finally delivered that opener moments later, though. It wasn't off the cleanest sequence or touch off the feed from Kieran Trippier, but it did the trick to beat Buffon, who had gone to ground, to give Tottenham a 1-0 lead on the day and 3-2 on aggregate.
Juventus labored through the second half until the 64th minute, when Higuain volleyed home after Sami Khedira's header. The goal made it 1-1 on the day and 3-3 on aggregate, with Tottenham leading via its away-goal tiebreaker.
That calculus changed significantly just moments later. Higuain fed Dybala through the center, where he remained onside and then broke free to beat Hugo Lloris to vault Juventus into the lead. The goal also pulled the visitors even on away goals.
Son came inches from an equalizer in the 83rd minute. He lined up a left-footed curler from 20 yards, and while he beat Buffon, he couldn't tuck it inside the post, instead sending it inches wide of the post.
Tottenham continued to push for that equalizer and it nearly came through Kane in the 90th minute, with his header down off the ground taking a bounce off the far post. The ball lingered on the goal line before Andrea Barzagli cleared it to safety.
Here were the starting lineups for both teams:
The quarterfinal draw for the Champions League will take place on Friday, March 16, with no restrictions placed in which teams can be paired with one another. Real Madrid and Liverpool became the first two teams to punch their tickets, doing so on Tuesday.
