1 Harry was true to his word

It was tempting to wonder whether Harry Redknapp was playing a few mind games before the match, when he said "we will have a right go" at Milan, but the Spurs manager was true to his word. The enforced inclusion of Sandro and Wilson Palacios, two holding midfielders, made little difference to the away team's attacking approach as they took the game to Milan from the first minute and they reached the interval entitled to feel that they had more than held their own. Even recognised defenders like the two full-backs, Vedran Corluka and Benoît Assou-Ekotto, were keen to join in at every opportunity as Spurs sought to penetrate the Milan defence on both flanks. Tottenham managed to strike a nice balance between staying compact when Milan were in possession and breaking forward with purpose whenever the opportunity to counter presented itself. In other words, their display was nothing like that in the first half against Internazionale here.

2 Palacios and Sandro did well

Luka Modric, who came on in the second half, would have started this game if he had been fully fit. But the impressive performances of Palacios and Sandro suggested that being without the Croatian was not an entirely bad thing for Spurs. Although Modric might have made more of the possession Spurs enjoyed before he came on to the field, Palacios and Sandro were impressive in the centre of the pitch. They have rarely played together and are behind Modric, Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas in Redknapp's midfield pecking order but they looked like long-term partners on this occasion. Some might have harboured concerns that Sandro would have been out of his depth in a game of this magnitude – he had not even been named in Tottenham's squad for the group stage of the competition – but the 21-year-old Brazilian broke up play and moved the ball intelligently. Palacios also snapped into tackles and, by screening the Spurs rearguard, made it difficult for Milan to thread balls into the front men.

3 This is no vintage Milan side

As seven-time winners of the competition Milan have a wonderful pedigree but on this evidence Massimiliano Allegri's team are not worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as some of the great teams of yesteryear. His men may be occupying top spot in Serie A but it was a measure of how comfortable Spurs were early on that their goalkeeper, Heurelho Gomes, had not been forced to make a notable save by the time half-time came around. It was no surprise to see Clarence Seedorf, one of several veterans in this Milan side, being taken off at the break, to be replaced by the young Brazilian Pato. Robinho, who will always be remembered as the flagship signing who failed to deliver at Manchester City, was anonymous and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, so dangerous domestically, once again managed to go missing on a Champions League night. It said it all that the player who looked most like scoring for Milan was Mario Yepes, a central defender.

4 Gattuso doesn't know Joe Jordan

Gennaro Gattuso has always had fiery reputation but the Milan captain clearly knows little about Joe Jordan, despite the fact the Scotsman once played for the Italian club. The Milan captain thrust his hand into the face of Jordan, on the touchline in the second half. How the Spurs assistant manager must have wished he had been out on the pitch to exact retribution. Gattuso later picked up a caution that will rule him out of the second leg but he can count himself lucky that Stéphane Lannoy, the referee, failed to spot him clip Peter Crouch around the ear off the ball. The biggest crime, though, was that Mathieu Flamini stayed on the pitch. The former Arsenal player was guilty of a shocking two-footed lunge on Vedran Corluka that brought the Croatian's night to an end. Flamini escaped with a yellow card.

5 Spurs have nothing to fear

This performance and result, without Gareth Bale, was proof that Redknapp's side not only belong at this level but deserve to be regarded as genuine contenders. They have comprehensively beaten the reigning champions and they have beaten Milan on their own patch. Tottenham executed their game plan brilliantly, as they showed defensive discipline that is rarely associated with Redknapp's teams and also attacked with menace. Nobody deserved to score the winner more than Peter Crouch, who caused problems throughout. Aaron Lennon's role in that breakaway was also hugely significant. Redknapp knows the job is not done but Spurs have given themselves a wonderful chance.