Two goals in the second-half saw Juventus come back from 1-0 down to knock Tottenham Hotspur out of the Champions League, with a 2-1 win at Wembley putting them through to the quarterfinals 4-3 on aggregate.
Two minutes and 49 seconds of madness did for them. That was enough. It was enough for world-class performers such as Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala to deliver the goals that sent Pochettino and Spurs out of Europe.
Son Heung-min’s first-half effort had put Tottenham in control after they had drawn 2-2 in Turin last month. There was little sign of a Juventus response until Gonzalo Higuain poked in from close range to equalise in the 64th minute.
Fellow Argentine Dybala, who missed the first leg with an injury, curled past Hugo Lloris after bursting clear two minutes later.
Before the first goal by Juventus it looked like it would be a comfortable victory for Spurs. Up until the Higuain goal the Italian giants had not registered any shot on target.
Juventus were certain that they should have had a 17th-minute penalty when Jan Vertonghen slid in on Costa and brought him down but — despite furious appeals — referee Szymon Marciniak gave only a goal kick.
Spurs claimed penalties of their own, arguing Medhi Benatia and then Chiellini had handled inside the box. Both incidents were denied by the referee as not penalties.
Over the two legs Spurs were undeniably the better side, even though they were facing last season’s highly experienced finalists and the Serie A champions, but they were undone by a desperately poor 12 minutes – nine minutes when they conceded twice in the first leg before impressively drawing 2-2, and the three minutes here.
It was tough on Tottenham, who will rue several missed chances in the opening period and hit the post with a Harry Kane header in the 90th minute.
The result also gave proof that Massimiliano Allegri’s experienced Juventus, runners-up in two of the last three seasons, remain one of Europe’s toughest nuts to crack.