LONDON — In those last few minutes on Wednesday, as Tottenham Hotspur threw all it had at Juventus in one last, desperate attempt to remain in the Champions League, something came over the gnarled veterans at the heart of Juventus’s defense.
Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini should have been furrowing their brows, gritting their teeth, clinging by their fingernails. In the far corner of Wembley Stadium, their visiting fans were singing and bouncing, nervously, as if to distract themselves from the overwhelming tension.
Tottenham, after all, possesses one of the English Premier League’s best attacking units: the power of Harry Kane, the wit of Heung-Min Son and Christian Eriksen, the menace of Dele Alli.