Mauricio Pochettino's delayed adjustments hold Spurs back in loss

Two goals against the run of play within three minutes midway through the second half handed Juventus a 2-1 win -- 4-3 on aggregate -- to help the Italian champions past Tottenham and into the last eight of the Champions League on Wednesday.
Spurs had dominated the first 45 minutes and -- though fortunate not to concede a penalty -- had enough good chances to go into the break more than a single goal ahead.
In the end Tottenham's profligacy in front of goal -- combined with a little naivety, as they lost concentration at a crucial time -- cost them dearly, as Juventus scored twice on the break. Spurs pressed hard for the equaliser that would take the game into extra-time and came close in the dying minutes when a Harry Kane header hit the woodwork. By then it was too little, too late.
For Tottenham it was so near, yet so far. Spurs can take some comfort from the fact that they dominated play for long periods of the game and showed they could compete with one of the most experienced clubs in European football. Now they must learn to be more ruthless in putting teams to bed. To state the obvious, Spurs are out of a competition in which they should have comfortably progressed to the next round. At this level players can't afford to switch off and Spurs were guilty of doing so twice inside three minutes. It was as if the team was unsure whether to continue the pressing game that had served them so well in the first half or to sit back and try and see out the game. In the end they succeeded in doing neither

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