'It was a draw but it was also a victory for Pochettino' read one Madrid headline on Wednesday morning and if the Tottenham manager does harbor a desire to one day coach Real Madrid, he did himself the power of good with this assured, intelligent display from his team.
Pochettino had made plenty of friends before Tuesday night's game telling the Madrid media a player had not been 'baptised' until he had played at the Bernabeu, and reaffirming that he could never coach Barcelona.
But Spurs' subsequent performance only cemented the lasting impression. 'Tactical masterclass' might be an over-used phrase, but that is how his showing was reviewed after Tottenham's impressive 1-1 draw on Tuesday.