Massimiliano Allegri praises Kwadwo Asamoah

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has ascribed his side's 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 to the tactical awareness of substitute defender, Kwadwo Asamoah.

The Bianconeri were on the verge of exiting the competition after going down to Son Heung-Min's 39th-minute strike at the Wembley Stadium.

But Allegri made a tactical switch in the 60th minute as he brought on Kwadwo Asamoah in place of Alex Sandro and pushed the Brazilian to midfield at the expense of French midfielder Blaise Matuidi, which brought life into the Italian champions game.

Just four minutes after Asamoah's introduction, Juventus levelled the score line courtesy Gonzalo Higuain before Paulo Dybala completed the comeback in the 67th minute to send the Turin-based outfit to the quarter-final stage of the competition.

“I needed someone who could dribble on the left flank, so I put in Asamoah, who I believe is an underrated player. Then I brought in Lichtsteiner to re-energize the right flank. The players are the ones who earned the win. Merit belongs to them,” Allegri said after the game.

Juventus have thus qualified to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League with 4-3 aggregate.