Tottenham Hotspur could not be breached as a 0-0 draw with AC Milan was enough to see them into the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Harry Redknapp's men at times rode their luck at White Hart Lane, and needed William Gallas and Michael Dawson to perform to their peak at the back, as they went through 1-0 on aggregate courtesy of their first leg excellence in Italy.
Sandro was also immense in midfield as Robinho and Alexandre Pato went closest for a Milan side who forced Spurs on the back foot for most of the night. They could not capitalise it on it though as Tottenham's European odyssey just goes on and on.
Rafael Van der Vaart lined up behind Peter Crouch in the Tottenham attack, with Aaron Lennon and Steven Pienaar on the flanks and Gareth Bale in reserve along with Ledley King among the seven substitutes. Vedran Corluka was also fit to start at right back and once again face up to Mathieu Flamini, after the Frenchman’s dreadful challenge on him three weeks ago.
There was no Gennaro Gattuso as he was banned after his fiery behaviour in the first leg, but that did not mean the game did not get off to a red hot start. Van der Vaart shot just wide from a neat Pienaar layoff at one end, before Dawson had to prevent Zlatan Ibrahimovic from making a deadly connection with Clarence Seedorf’s forward pass at the other.
A lively pattern continued as Christian Abbiati was needed to leave his line and pounce on a Crouch knockdown before Van der Vaart could get in, while former Spurs man Kevin-Prince Boateng won a couple of free-kicks in the other half, one of which Ibrahimovic smashed goalward from 25 yards out on the left to bring a solid save from Heurelho Gomes.
Boateng was penalised for a foul as he headed Pato’s subsequent corner into Gomes’ gloves.
Robinho, who mainly flattered to deceive when at Manchester City, was back in England in the red and black of Milan and he found space on the right at one point and crossed for the well-positioned Pato, whose shot was well blocked by Dawson. Robinho then failed to trouble Gomes with a wild effort of his own as Milan began to enjoy a sustained spell in the home half.
That will have added to the nerves gripping the home supporters and Gomes did not help 25 minutes in when he went walkabout from his goal and needed Gallas to hoof a deflected Robinho effort right off the line, the nearest thing to a goal all evening.
Five minutes later Van der Vaart went close for the hosts, but his 25-yard free-kick did not dip low enough and Abbiati looked to have it covered in any case. That was brief respite though as the Spurs defence allowed Ibrahimovic to slip Pato in a minute later and Gomes had to parry his left-footed effort.
Gomes was having a shaky night, but Dawson and Gallas continued to clean up well as half-time neared, the latter getting a good block to another Ibrahimovic attempt. For Spurs, Van der Vaart and Benoit Assou-Ekotto could not trouble Abbiati with ambitious efforts as the minutes ticked down, but their side had been second best in the first half and there was an air of relief around the north London ground as the half-time whistle sounded.
Crouch began the second half by surging above everyone to get his head to Lennon’s exquisite cross, but - instead of going himself - the England forward headed across goal as he tried to set up Van de Vaart who was never going to reach it.
The ever-dangerous Milan saw Flamini roll an effort across goal and to Spurs safety from Ignazio Abate’s set-up, while Spurs focused on trying to find Crouch in the air. And, while some of his rises encouraged referee Frank De Bleeckere to give Milan free-kicks, the tactic was worrying Milan, for whom Seedorf had to quickly clear as Luka Modric raced onto another Crouch knockdown.
Lennon was beginning to trouble Marek Jankulovski, while Sandro was excelling at the heart of the home midfield and he too got at the veteran Czech defender with a couple of rambles as Spurs began to grow into the game.
The hordes of home fans firing boos on Flamini had reason to get louder as the first leg aggressor clattered into Assou-Ekotto with a tackle reminiscent of the one that hurt Corluka a few weeks ago. Bale then came on at last to replace Van der Vaart, who was looking leggy, and Flamini – who was booked for the afore-mentioned lunge - quickly showed the Welshman he was there as well with another challenge, though there was no second yellow. Jermaine Jenas, meanwhile, also came on for Pienaar.
Those substitutions actually came after a poor Van der Vaart throw had nearly cost Spurs their advantage. Milan claimed possession before Pato fed Robinho whose shot was saved but not cleared by Gomes. The former City man came in looking for another attempt, but the home side just about got it away after what was every bit as much a let-off as Gallas’ first-half goal line heroics.
That incident revived the releasing from the sweat pores for the home fans though as Milan began to up the ante again. Visiting sub Luca Antonini did escape the concession of a penalty for handball, but he was very close to Lennon when the winger struck the ball so it would have been harsh. Antonini’s fellow sub Alexander Merkel then interconnected with Pato, who fired a vicious shot just wide of the side-netting to Gomes’s right.
That preceded the tense final ten minutes, for which Roman Pavlyuchenko replaced Crouch and in which Bale and Lennon used their pace to try and find Milan holes at the back, and stop them from going too far forward.
Massimiliano Allegri’s men tried a couple of long range efforts that failed to trouble Gomes to the delight of the home fans. And yet their hearts were in their mouths as Seedorf and Ibrahimovic combined to set up Robinho just outside the area, and his curled effort was deflected inches over the bar.
That was their last chance though as they fell to English opposition for the third successive time in this competition. Spurs, who were forced to change their approach considerably for much of the night, march on and will no doubt be looking to get back to more attacking ways in the last eight, whoever they get in the draw.