An amazing statistic regarding the start to Champions League life made by Harry Kane has come to the fore online this evening, following the Englishman’s goal versus Italian giants Juventus.
Matchup
The return of the Champions League this week and next will see some mouthwatering fixtures played out, with Juventus’ clash with English outfit Tottenham having garnered plenty of attention around Europe.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs looked extremely impressive on their way to topping a group that featured both Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund late last year, while Juventus, Champions League finalists in 2 of the last 3 seasons, finished runners-up to runaway La Liga leaders Barcelona in their own group.
2-0
Juve, due to their European experience and stellar recent form, were viewed as favourites ahead of kick-off tonight, albeit just, and took little time to prove exactly why, with a free-kick awarded to the hosts with just over a minute on the clock eventually seeing the ball clipped over Tottenham’s backline by Miralem Pjanic and wonderfully volleyed home by Gonzalo Higuain.
Spurs were clearly shellshocked, with Juventus incredibly going on to double their lead just 6 minutes later.
A switched ball from Mario Mandzukic to the left side of Tottenham’s box saw Federico Bernardeschi beat Ben Davies to the delivery, with Davies proceeding to take out the Italian midfielder, resulting in a penalty.
Gonzalo Higuain stepped up to confidently make it 2-0 with just 8 minutes on the clock, with the tie looking as though it could be over early.
HT
However, Tottenham worked their way back into the game as the half wore on, eventually seeing their dominance in possession pay off with a deserved equaliser through Harry Kane.
Unbelievably, Juventus had the chance to restore their 2-goal advantage from the spot on the stroke of half-time, after Serge Aurier needlessly took out Douglas Costa in Spurs’ box.
But Gonzalo Higuain failed to complete his first-half hat-trick, blazing his ensuing penalty off the crossbar and out.
Comeback complete
A pulsating second-half followed during which both sides exchanged chances, with Federico Bernardeschi and Mario Mandzukic coming close for the home side.
However, it was Tottenham who found the net next to complete their comeback, via a free-kick from the brilliant Christian Eriksen.
The free-kick itself saw the Danish creator completely wrong-foot Gianluigi Buffon, after the Italian veteran set up his wall too far to his left and then proceeded to take a step the wrong way a split-second before the ball was kicked.
In the end, Spurs came away with a crucial draw, with their two away goals set to prove potentially crucial when the two sides meet again in London in 3 weeks’ time.
Stat
While it was a night to be hugely proud of for the visitors as a club, one Tottenham star who also had a historic night on an individual level was Harry Kane.
On his 9th Champions League appearance, Kane netted his 9th goal in Europe’s top-tier competition, more than any other player in the history of the Champions League has managed after as many games.
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