Brahim Díaz gives Milan narrow advantage over Tottenham in last 16

For Antonio Conte, it had been easy to wonder which Tottenham would turn up for the biggest game of the season so far. The team that outplayed and beat Manchester City on the Sunday before last? Or the one which collapsed at Leicester on Saturday?

Conte has craved consistency, a little stability and it was not for nothing on Monday night that he likened life at the club to a rollercoaster. This was the latest ride.

The manager, who continues to battle the after-effects of his gallbladder removal two weeks ago, felt his insides churn when Brahim Díaz scored for Milan with the tie’s first action.

Conte could feel the encouragement of a controlled performance from his team for much of the game thereafter. It did not seem as if they had too much to fear from Milan, who have struggled on the domestic front since the turn of the year. And yet it could have been worse for Spurs when Milan blew two massive chances towards the end.

Olivier Giroud headed down for the substitute, Charles De Ketelaere, who fluffed his lines badly and, moments later, following more excellent work by the star turn, Rafael Leão, Malick Thiaw, headed wide when he had to score. Spurs’s regret lay in their inability to create too much of clear-cut note. Eric Dier, booked harshly to incur a suspension, blew a header when well-placed late on. Spurs remain very much alive.

Spurs had created a few previous legends at one of the great cathedrals of European football – the Gareth Bale hat-trick against Internazionale (albeit in defeat); the Peter Crouch winner against Milan in a tie more famous for Gennaro Gattuso versus Joe “Jaws” Jordan; the Emmanuel Adebayor goal that edged a Europa League thriller.

Their mission was to create something more up to date and