Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Juventus (Agg 3-4): Rating the individual performances

Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus played out a great game of UEFA Champions League football that featured some brilliant attacking displays as well as some excellent defensive moments.

Unfortunately, only one of these teams could make it through to the quarter-finals and it was Tottenham's night that ended in heartbreak, after over 60 minutes of brilliance was undone by two lapses of concentration.

This match showed, once again, that football can be exciting and intense and aggressive, but can also be full of heartbreak.

Thankfully though, I'm here to evaluate each individual performance and whilst I imagine the Spurs players will be disappointed not to make it through, they can take solace in the fact I gave quite a few of them a very respectable rating:

Tottenham Hotspur

Hugo Lloris - 5/10

A tough one to judge, really, given how little he had to do. He came out and claimed balls well and his distribution was fine, but Juventus only had three shots on target and two of them went in. The one save he did make was very comfortable and does not really earn him any points, but neither goal can be blamed on him either. A five seems fair.

Kieran Trippier - 6.5/10

One of the most dangerous parts of Trippier's game is his attacking down the line and crossing into the box, and all things considered, he did them pretty well against Juventus, with one of his low crosses even leading to Son's goal.

Unfortunately, he switched off for about three minutes in the second half and at this level, that's simply not good enough. Both goals, particularly the second, can be attributed to Trippier's lack of awareness, which is a shame, because for a lot of the game, he played well and made some good interceptions.

Davinson Sánchez - 6.5/10

A very good game from the young man. somewhat of a revelation in the first half, with constant control and a commanding presence. Defensively, he seemed great, but like most of the Spurs team, he did switch off and it was his inability to mark up and his unawareness of the players around him that lead to Juve's equaliser.

Jan Vertonghen - 4.5/10

Definitely not Vertonghen's best game. Spurs' only poor moment of the first half involved Douglas Costa racing into the penalty area and Vertonghen illegally bringing him down. Fortunately for him, the referee didn't see it, but that didn't stop Vertonghen as he continued to make unnecessary fouls and eventually saw himself booked.

Ben Davies - 6/10

Not a particularly bad showing from the young man. Some good defending early on and some good tackles, but he will obviously be associated with both Juve's goals. Whilst he did press forward somewhat, his final ball was lacking and he didn't create the chances his teammate Trippier did.

Mousa Dembélé - 6.5/10

Tottenham Hotspur v Juventus - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: Second Leg — Dembele could've been better in the second half

Dembélé is quietly one of both Tottenham's, and the Premier League's, best players, and he showed a bit of that today. He's such a vital part of Tottenham's midfield, winning the ball and holding it and pushing it forward.

Whilst his first-half performance was excellent, he faulted slightly in the second after Juventus went ahead. Presumably, the occasion and pressure got the better of him, as he lost the ball frequently and made a few sloppy fouls.

Eric Dier - 6/10

An okay performance from Dier. He had a decent first half shot but on the whole, played pretty reserved football. A largely forgettable performance, although he was probably most accountable for the first goal Tottenham that conceded. His lack of attacking threat is the justification for why he was brought off.

Christian Eriksen - 7/10

A far quieter game than usual for the often instrumental Eriksen. That said, it was still a good performance from him, attacking well and playing some lovely long balls into space for Tottenham's wingers to latch on. Unfortunately, he produced nothing as spectacular as his equaliser in the first leg.

Dele Alli - 7/10

A performance from Alli reminiscent of his quality performances last year. Some lovely through balls and some cheeky flicks contributed to Tottenham's stellar attack, and he had a decent shot that tested Buffon.

Towards the end of the game though, once his team were losing, he began to lose his head, and Pochettino's decision to bring him off was very justified.

Son Heung-min - 8.5/10

Easily Tottenham's man of the match, Son was absolutely incredible. Juventus' defence could barely handle the young man, and Spurs' tactics largely seemed to simply be giving the ball to Son and watching him singlehandedly drive the ball towards the goal.

He had a couple of great chances, and eventually, his moment came, as despite not getting the cleanest of strikes on the ball, Son was able to put his team in the lead. Whilst he will no doubt be disappointed in how the match ended, he should have absolutely no regrets.

Harry Kane - 6.5/10

A tough day at the office for England's number one striker. On one hand, he played brilliantly, putting his tricky feet to good use to create chances for his teammates, and often easing past Chiellini to create chances for himself.

Unfortunately, despite skipping past Buffon in the first half and heading the ball against the post in the dying moments of the second, he couldn't find the goal his team so desperately needed him to.

Substitutes:

Érik Lamela - 6.5/10

An attacking substitution and a relatively effective one. He worked his way into the Juve box a few times at the end of the game and successfully helped Tottenham keep the pressure on until the very closing minutes. His final balls could've been a lot sharper and snappier, but still, a somewhat effective impact sub.

Fernando Llorente - 5/10

He was on the pitch for less than 10 minutes so in some ways, this feels slightly unnecessary and like I really just shouldn't bother, but for sake of being a completionist, I'll sum his performance up in a few sentences. He was brought on as a late addition to bolster Tottenham's attack, but he didn't really add much and I didn't particularly notice his presence.

Juventus

Gianluigi Buffon - 6.5/10

Making a whole host of good saves, Buffon was definitely an important factor in Juventus' qualification for the next round. At times, Spurs were relentless, and despite the odd mistake, and obviously, the goal which was somewhat of a mess, Buffon used his experience to fend off the majority of Tottenham's shots and crosses and ensure his team only conceded the one goal.

Andrea Barzagli - 4/10

Not a great performance at all. For the majority of the match, Son attacked and got the better of Barzagli, leaving the defender in his wake. Rather than using his football skills to try and prevent this, Barzagli decided to stamp on the back of Son's leg in an attempt to presumably slow him down and possibly injure him. A disgusting act and one that hopefully results in some form of repercussion for Barzagli.

Medhi Benatia - 4/10

A pretty poor performance all things considered. Constantly pulling on shirts and yet still losing headers, he was overwhelmed by the Spurs attackers, getting frustrated, making unnecessary bad fouls, resulting in a yellow, giving the ball away and making weak clearances.

Giorgio Chiellini - 7.5/10

Whilst his first-half performance wasn't up to his usual standard, with him being unable to contain Harry Kane, repeatedly giving the ball away and making bad fouls, and arguably handling the ball in his own area, Chiellini woke up after his team scored two and gave another of his trademark defensive showings. A number of crucial blocks and some last-ditch defending prevented Tottenham from scoring that evasive equaliser.

Alex Sandro - 6/10

Bar receiving an unjustified yellow card after a dive from Trippier, Alex Sandro didn't really do much of anything for the vast majority of the match. After the subs were made, he was allowed a bit more freedom to play as a winger, but even then, he went largely unnoticed.

Miralem Pjanić - 6/10

Compared to the high standard of football people generally expect from Pjanić, this was a bit of a disappointment. He had a few good displays of strength and fired a decent shot at around the 40th-minute mark, but by and large, he was ineffective and offered his team very little.

Douglas Costa - 7/10

A pretty good performance from the Bayern Munich loanee. He made a great run in the first half, but was brought down in the box before he could get his shot away, and whilst he should have won his team a penalty, one was not given. Despite that, he was a constant threat making some great runs and acting as more of a danger man than most would have expected.

Blaise Matuidi - 5.5/10

A largely uninspired performance from the Frenchman. Whilst he was on the pitch, Juventus were relatively weak and were dominated by Tottenham's midfield. He did make a few good passes, but was somewhat overshadowed by his replacement - Kwadwo Asamoah.

Sami Khedira - 6.5/10

Decent is the best word to describe Khedira in this match. He made a few nice passes but also made some unnecessary fouls, and was a part of Juventus' underwhelming midfield. He did, however, bag a nice assist with his cheeky header setting Higuaín up for an almost unmissable opportunity.

Gonzalo Higuaín - 7.5/10

A bizarre performance from the Argentinian, if truth be told. In the first half, he may as well have been a member of the crowd, having fewer touches of the ball than Tottenham's goalkeeper, Lloris.

In the second half, however, he had a few opportunities, and made the most of them, scoring Juve's equaliser and playing a great ball to assist Dybala in putting Juve ahead.

Paulo Dybala - 7.5/10

The match winner himself had a pretty quiet game. Clearly not completely match fit after his recent injury, he spent a large amount of the game unnoticed. That said, he had a few nice moments of skill, and late in the game when the opportunity presented itself he switched his pace on, raced away from the Tottenham backline and found Higuaín's brilliant ball. One cool collected finish later and he had put his team into the Champions League quarter-final.

Substitutes:

Stephan Lichtsteiner - 7.5/10

A very good impact sub whose experience proved vital for Juventus. He helped the team attack and within three minutes of being brought on his team equalised. Late in the game, when Juve were trying to hold onto their one goal advantage, his presence was very effective and he successfully shut and slowed down a number of Tottenham attacks.

Kwadwo Asamoah - 7/10

As soon as he came on, Asamoah brought a positivity and energy onto the pitch with him, giving Juventus a huge boost which lead to them scoring the two vital goals they needed to make it to the next round. He was a brilliant ball-winning midfielder, helping shut down Tottenham's late rumblings, and being a commanding presence in the middle of the pitch.

Stefano Sturaro - 6/10

Another player who was brought on for less than ten minutes, who I feel, is almost pointless reviewing. For the ten minutes he was on, Juve were on the back foot and bar a low easy shot for Lloris (Juve's only shot on target that didn't go in), I can't remember anything Sturaro did.

Edited by Aakanksh Sanketh