The data link layer provides node-to-node data transfer—a link between two directly connected nodes.
That isn't correct - nodes don't need to be directly connected. It's the purpose of a layer-2 protocol to enable point-to-multipoint communication. Each node can reach any other node by simply sending a frame to the destination's MAC address.
You might have quoted a definition for a physical layer connection which is almost always point-to-point nowadays.
we have an important functionality of addressing here. Why isn't this a part of the definition of the layer 2 functionality?
But it is. You seem to have read the wrong texts or may have misunderstood what you read.
Ethernet covers OSI layer 1 and 2. Originally, all nodes were connected by a shared wire and each NIC filtered all frames not addressed to its own MAC address. The interconnecting network was just passively distributing everything everywhere. The actual addressing was all done on the end nodes. When the wire was replaced by a multiport repeater (hub) that logic didn't change.
Later, switches came up that replaced the essentially passive network by controlled, directed and buffered forwarding. That way, the efficiency of a network was greatly improved without needing to change any logic at the nodes/NICs.
