After not only progressing through the dreaded ‘Group of death’ but also topping it, Tottenham‘s reward was a double-header against Juventus. How’s your luck?
When analysing the strength of the Italian giants, the stats speak for themselves: Juventus have lost only two of their last 19 Champions League games (including last year’s final), are unbeaten in 22 home games in the competition and head into the game having conceded just the one goal in their last 16 games.
In Juventus, Tottenham face Europe’s most formidable defence – but there is hope
Spurs, in good form no doubt, have it all to do in Turin, then, but having taken 10 points from a possible 12 against Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in the group stages, they will fear no-one. Their task has also been made slightly easier by the absence of Paulo Dybala for the first leg.
Hamstrung
Unless Max Allegri was shamelessly double bluffing in his pre-match press conference, the 24-year-old Argentine will play no part in the game due to a hamstring injury. Allegri said: “We hope he’d be available, I cannot take risk. He’s an important player, we can not accelerate his recovery & then lose him all the season.”
That news would have been music to Mauricio Pochettino’s ears, even if he played down the significance of Dybala missing from the Juventus team sheet. That Pochettino referred to his compatriot in the same bracket as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar in his press conference shows the esteem with which the Cordoba native is held.
‘He’s that type of player, like Messi, Neymar and Cristiano. They have the capacity to give to the team a different option.’
Mauricio Pochettino
While Dybala, who strangely is yet to score a senior goal for Argentina, has some way to go before being at the level of the now default Ballon d’Or triumvirate, he demonstrated that he can have a huge impact on the biggest of games during last season’s run to the final.
Although his reputation has been steadily ascending since his final year at Palermo, it was Dybala’s virtuoso, match-winning display against Barcelona in the quarter-finals that catapulted him into the consciousness of the everyday football fan. His goals – both scored with immaculately precise finishes with the instep of his left foot – after seven minutes and again a quarter of an hour later put the Old Lady firmly in control of the tie. It was a position they held on to for the remaining 160 or so minutes, sailing through 3-0 on aggregate.
Scruff of the neck
Taking a big game against such exalted opponents by the scruff of the neck is the sign of a great player and he has used that night as a springboard to improve even further, enjoying the best season of his career prior to his recent setback.
Despite missing five games due to the hamstring strain, Dybala is well on course for his best goalscoring season yet, netting 14 goals in 19 Serie A games and 17 in 28 in all competitions. His tally of 19 league goals and 23 overall from 48 matches in 2015-16 is so far his best return for a single campaign.
Those numbers may be dwarfed by the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar and even Spurs’ very own Harry Kane, but what makes them impressive is that he is not Juventus’ main centre forward – a status held by Gonzalo Higuain. Instead, Dybala is the second striker, roaming around the final third looking for space to feed probing passes through to his partner, dribble effortlessly past opposing defenders and create shooting opportunities for himself.
Creative influence
Dybala might be awaiting his first Champions League goal of the campaign but he was comfortably Juventus’ most creative player in the group stage, supplying 17 chances from his six appearances, a tally almost double that of their metronomic playmaker Miralem Pjanic. Few players can match Dybala when dribbling with the ball at his feet either. At times, it looks as though the ball has been super-glued to his foot, such is the way in which he weaves in and out of challenges.
Juve’s squad is a hugely strong one and domestically they haven’t missed Dybala, winning all five of their league games without him at an aggregate score of 13-0 (slightly skewed by the 7-0 hammering of Sassuolo a couple of weeks ago, admittedly).
Summer signings Federico Bernardeschi and Douglas Costa have taken it in turns to audition for the inside forward role vacated by Dybala on Juve’s right-wing and while both are talented players capable of causing any defence problems, they don’t possess that match-winning, clutch quality that Dybala has. A combined effort of six goals between them in the league demonstrates that.
Juventus are a formidable side, of that there is no doubt. It is a testament to Napoli’s herculean efforts this season that Juve haven’t already wrapped up the Serie A title having failed to win only four times in 24 games so far. They are the leading scorers in their domestic league with 61 goals and have the joint-meanest defence, conceding only 15 times.
In Higuain, they boast the seventh most expensive footballer of all-time. Sami Khedira is a World Cup-winning midfielder. Pjanic is one of Europe’s best deep-lying midfield players. Giorgio Chiellini and Gianluigi Buffon, have been there, seen it, done it and then done it all over again.
Yet without Dybala, they miss that little bit of sparkle and imagination. It is up to Spurs to make sure that his absence is sorely felt.