Singapore: Harry Kane scored a stunning 93rd minute winner from the halfway line as Tottenham Hotspur edged Juventus 3-2 in an entertaining pre-season friendly here Sunday.
England captain Harry Kane latched onto Lucas Moura’s short pass and launched a first-time shot high over a scrambling substitute keeper Wojciech Szczesny as Spurs rallied past new manager Maurizio Sarri’s Italian champions in front of a delighted National Stadium crowd.
“It’s probably one of the best goals of my career. I noticed the keeper was often off of his line and thought if I get a chance to shoot I will and it just went in,” Harry Kane said in a post-match interview.
A youthful Spurs dominated the first half as Juventus struggled to adapt to their new coach’s ‘Sarri-ball’ tactic of playing out from the back with short, quick passes.
Instead of moving the ball forward, Juventus often found themselves defending desperately after being caught in possession as Spurs pressed high up the pitch with the Premier League side going on to take a deserved lead on the half-hour mark.
Son Heung-min started the move by holding up play and feeding Troy Parrott for a clear run at Gianluigi Buffon in the Juventus goal, with the17-year-old forward’s low strike parried by the veteran keeper straight into the path of an unmarked Erik Lamela for a routine tap-in.
“It was a very good game, very competitive. To be honest, we are still short in our preparations and I wasn’t planning to play this way so early in the pre-season… we were still hoping to give some players more rest after a long campaign,” Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino said.
“The result was not the most important thing today, the performance was and how we continue our preparations for the upcoming season,” Pochettino added.
Juventus had more success after the break when they increased their tempo and went more direct, and half time substitute Gonzalo Higuain levelled the score in the 56th minute with a drilled strike after exchanging neat passes with Federico Bernardeschi.
Buoyed by the equaliser, Juventus were soon ahead when Cristiano Ronaldo arrived late to drive home Mattia De Sciglio’s cutback four minutes later, leaving to rapturous applause by an adoring crowd when he was substituted immediately after scoring.
Spurs were level in the 65th minute, however, when Champions League semifinal hero Lucas fired home record signing Tanguy Ndombele’s low cross, the French midfielder finding the Brazilian with his first touch after coming on as a substitute.
Kane and Higuain both squandered good chances to score winning goals in the final 10 minutes before the England striker prevented the contest going to a penalty shootout with the most brilliant of strikes.
AFP