Mauricio Pochettino told his young Tottenham team that they had proved they belong on the biggest stages of world football after holding Real Madrid to a famous 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night.

“This was the greatest challenge to compete and we’ve done it,” said Pochettino. “It is something we were missing; this feeling to compete at the highest level. We are a team under construction but we have reinforced our ideas. The result is less important. The fact we competed makes me most happy.”

Pochettino believed that he surprised Madrid with his decision to play two strikers in Harry Kane and Fernando Llorente - and was especially delighted by his team’s flexibility even in the absence of several key players, including Dele Alli and Mousa Dembele.

“Last year, in six Champions League games, we got seven points and now we have seven in three games against Borussia Dortmund, Apoel and Real Madrid,” said Pochettino. “It’s important to work and find different options and surprise our opponents. From now on we can include different nuances in our play.