Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini claims Tottenham remain ‘a little way short’ of winning games at elite level

Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini offered a sharp assessment of Tottenham’s credentials after their 2-1 Champions League defeat at Wembley, claiming that their inexperience cost them on the night, and that they were still a little way short of winning close games at the elite level.

Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala scored in the space of three minutes to overturn Son Heung-Min’s first-half goal for Tottenham, and afterwards the imperious Chiellini, in comments that will in no way be blown out of proportion in the subsequent days, explained how the heft and history of Juventus helped them in these situations.

“At half-time we told ourselves that we had to remain calm despite suffering so much, because our chances would come,” Chiellini said. “Tottenham proved to be a great team. I think they are missing very little in becoming one of the best teams in Europe. Maybe some experience. A few years ago we were in the same place, and reaching two finals in the last three seasons helped us to better handle these kinds of games.

“It’s the history of Tottenham. They always create many chances and score so much, but in the end they miss [lack] something. We believe in the history. I think also yesterday in the game between Real and Paris, the history is important. Spurs just need that little something to start winning games like this - a trophy, a spark, a something. When you can’t win with great football, you have to find another route.”

Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, said he was “happy” and “proud” of his players despite their second-half collapse. “No lack of experience, no lack of concentration,” he insisted afterwards. “We created a lot of chances, and only scored one. We conceded three chances, and they scored twice. Sometimes you need luck to win. Over the two games we were much better.

“I feel relaxed, and happy. Disappointed, of course, but the quality and the performance of the team was very good. For me, football is not a nightmare. You can win or you can lose. All that we are going to talk about now is rubbish. Because in the end, you only win or lose.”

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri admitted that his second-half tactical switch, moving to a four-man defence, was crucial. “The changes did make a difference,” he said. “I thought there had been a bit of a dip in the physicality of the Spurs players, and we needed to take advantage. Considering the whole 180 minutes, I think our qualification was deserved.”