Tottenham draw with Juve, Man City on easy path to quarter-finals

Champions League

FE Team | Published: February 14, 2018 22:34:09

TURIN, Feb 14 (AFP): Striker Harry Kane said he was delighted that Tottenham fought back on Tuesday to take two valuable away goals into the second leg of their last 16 Champions League tie with Juventus.
Kane scored one of Spurs' goals as the English side fought back from 2-0 down to 2-2 in Turin, giving them an outstanding opportunity to qualify for the quarter-finals when the two sides meet at Wembley on March 7.
The Italian giants will have to outscore Tottenham if they are to go through.
Asked if he feared Spurs were about to sink without trace after the two early goals from Gonzalo Higuain, Kane told BT Sport: "We could have done, away from home in the Champions League. It showed character.
"It was an excellent performance after that and we take two away goals to Wembley. Great result."
Spurs' other scorer, Christian Eriksen, said: "We are sure we will have chances at Wembley. We go into that game full of confidence and we're looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, Ilkay Gundogan dazzled with two goals in Manchester City's 4-0 romp at FC Basel on Tuesday to leave the Premier League leaders on the verge of the Champions League quarter-finals.
Pep Guardiola's side effectively settled the last-16 tie after just 23 minutes by racing into a 3-0 lead at Basel's Sankt Jakob Park.
Their first three goals came in a devastating nine-minute spell thanks to a Gundogan header, a Bernardo Silva volley and a long-range Sergio Aguero strike.
Basel's misery continued just after the break when Gundogan deftly added a fourth from outside the area and he could easily have finished with a hat-trick.
"To win 4-0 away in the last 16 is an amazing result, we are almost in the quarter-finals, but I am not saying we are already there, out of respect for Basel," said Guardiola.
"We defended well and we were clinical - we had four chances and took them all."
The scoreline gives the Swiss side little hope for the return leg at the Etihad on March 7.
As expected, Basel were starved of the ball as City enjoyed 69 percent possession and completed 754 of their 882 passes.
"For a Champions League game, we did ever so well," said City captain Vincent Kompany after his first Champions League appearance this season.
"In these kinds of situations, it is about more than going through -- if we have a draw at home that won't give us a good feeling."
Germany midfielder Gundogan gave Basel a masterclass in defensive midfield play, complementing his two-goal display by repeatedly snuffing out fledgling Swiss attacks.
The only black mark against him was a late yellow card after a clash with Basel's Ivory Coast veteran midfielder Serey Die.
Basel head coach Raphael Wicky opted to play a back five when the host were defending, but the ploy only failed to keep City out for the first 14 minutes.