This should have been the night that made us look like real contenders for the Champions League but once again, we were left with a bitter taste in the mouth as Juventus beat Tottenham 2-1 at Wembley to knock us out.
Spurs had come to the game buoyed by the fact that they had an away goal advantage over the first-leg and it seemed that we would be taking that advantage further home as Son Heung-min scored in the first half.
The South Korean had been on fire for the last few games and we deserved to take the lead, however, things were going to take a massive turn for the worst.
Max Allegri might not be considered as great a manager for Juventus as Antonio Conte was but the Italian does have decent credentials and his decision to move to a back four worked wonders for the away side.
Two goals in three minutes settled the tie with Gonzalo Higuain getting the leveller in the 64th minute before Paulo Dybala raced on to finish past Hugo Lloris to make it 2-1 for the Italians.
They were going through on aggregate but we started ploughing forward in hopes of getting that second goal to at least, take the game to extra-time.
That was not going to happen and it felt as if fate was not on our side as Harry Kane’s 90th-minute header came agonisingly off the inside of the post and was then hacked away from the line.
This was not a poor performance by any means but it will be disappointing to know that we came so far and did the good work in Italy before succumbing at home, where we have been great this season.
The players gave it their all and here are the ratings from the tie at Wembley.
Hugo Lloris – 6/10
The keeper really should have done better for the second goal, which ultimately cost us the tie. Lloris couldn’t really do much to keep the Higuain effort out.
Kieran Trippier – 7/10
Trippier had a mixed evening as he was the outlet for Son’s goal but also carried part of the blame for the Dybala goal we conceded.
Davinson Sanchez – 7/10
The Colombian was a tower in the first half but wilted in the second as he too was to blame for the two goals we let in.
Jan Vertonghen – 5.5/10
Vertonghen was a lucky boy not to give away a penalty when he lunged in on Douglas Costa. The Belgian did get booked for fouling Dybala later on, aggression was good but the outlet was not proper.
Ben Davies – 7/10
Davies too did the job in helping out the attack and almost got us the equaliser as Kane hit the woodwork.
Eric Dier – 6/10
Dier didn’t have one of his monster games and was quiet throughout. He was substituted in the second half for Erik Lamela.
Mousa Dembele – 6.5/10
While Dembele did look good in certain parts of the game, we needed more from him and he too faded in the second half of the game.
Christian Eriksen – 6/10
Eriksen too didn’t step up when we needed him; although he had his moments of brilliance.
Dele Alli – 7/10
Alli did try his best as he toyed with the Juventus defence but just could not get the chance to make it count. The Englishman was one of our players booked on the night.
Son Heung-min – 8/10
Son should have scored earlier than he did but he got his reward later on. The South Korean was our best player by miles on the night.
Harry Kane – 7/10
What could have been but didn’t happen. Kane might rue that last-minute header but the striker was decent on the night without really making Gianluigi Buffon work too much.
Substitutes
Erik Lamela – 6/10
Lamela was brought on in the 74th minute for Eric Dier but regardless of trying so much, the Argentine just could not get us that second goal.
Fernando Llorente – NA
Didn’t have time to do much in the game.
