Tottenham match Real Madrid at the Bernabeu as Spurs and Mauricio Pochettino show their big-game ability

Hugo Lloris wanted to “show the face of Tottenham” here at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night, and he did exactly that, inspiring a display of personality, bravery and individual brilliance as Spurs earned a heroic 1-1 draw.

That point is precious but the performance is worth even more. Spurs came here, to the home of the best team in the world, to test themselves. Do they really belong in this company? Or are they just a good team on a run?

Every Spurs player, from Lloris upwards, emerged from this evening with his reputation improved. On a night full of stars Lloris was the brightest, holding Real Madrid at bay and making a save from a Karim Benzema header that will be seen millions of times before it can be understood. If Spurs make into the last-16 it will be one of the moments of their season. Even after that Lloris denied Cristiano Ronaldo twice more in the second half. The one time Ronaldo or Real beat Lloris all night was at the very end of the first half from the penalty spot.

But this game was no Alamo and there was far more to it than one-man resistance. The whole back five were impressive, from Jan Vertonghen out of his element at left wing-back all the way across to Serge Aurier, who did give away Real’s penalty but who also set up Raphael Varane’s own goal with his whipped cross. In between them Toby Alderweireld again showed why he is one of the world’s best centre backs. Plenty of teams come here and buckle but Tottenham did not.

Even that does not tell the whole story of the game because Spurs did not spend 90 minutes in their half. Lloris spoke beforehand about dominating possession but that was always going to be unlikely here, against the back-to-back European champions with Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Isco in their team. And yet when Spurs did get the ball they used it confidently and cleverly.

At the heart of all that was Harry Winks, who gave no indication whatsoever that this was the biggest game of his life by a distance. He played with such poise, never hurried, never wasting the ball and instrumental to everything Spurs did: it was his clever touch and pass that set Aurier away for Spurs’ goal. People still talk about Jack Wilshere’s famous game against Barcelona in 2011 but this was as good as that. If he can play like that here he can do it anywhere.

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And then there was Fernando Llorente, drafted in surprisingly to play alongside Harry Kane up front. Pochettino bought him to provide his big-game experience – he has played here countless times of course – and he was invaluable, doing selfless, tireless work, holding up the ball when Spurs went long and making chances for others. He could have earned a penalty when he was tripped by Casemiro in the first half and then in the final 20 minutes he made two openings which could have won Tottenham the game.

First, he took a pass from Eriksen and knocked it first time through to Harry Kane. He has 15 goals in his last 11 games, many harder than this one, but his bottom-corner finish was telegraphed and Keylor Navas tipped it wide. Three minutes later Spurs were in again: Llorente flicked a long ball on, Eriksen raced through, but from a difficult angle he could only find the side-netting.

So Tottenham had to make do with a point although with Borussia Dortmund drawing with APOEL they are now six points clear of the German side half-way through Group H. There were moments out there when it felt like Spurs would leave here with nothing, not least during the blur of white shirts that was the first 10 minutes.

But Tottenham settled and while the goal was fortunate, it was no surprise. Kane had forced a save from a Christian Eriksen corner and Llorente had been tripped in the box by the time Varane turned in Aurier’s cross.

A white onslaught followed: Isco forced a save from Hugo Lloris, Karim Benzema headed just wide and Spurs needed half-time. They were four minutes away when Modric and Benzema combined to release Kroos in the box. Aurier stretched and tripped him, and the Szymon Marciniak gave the penalty. Ronaldo sent Lloris the wrong way and the two teams went in level.

The white waves continued after the restart which is when Lloris made his save of the century to stop Real from going 2-1 up. Achraf teed up Casemiro on the right and he clipped a cross into the middle of the box to meet Karim Benzema’s thumping header. Lloris threw himself to dive full to his right, away from the ball, but with his preternatural reflexes he stuck out a trailing leg to push the ball away. It was a save worth as much as a goal.

Still Real piled forward and Ronaldo came alive. He beat Alderweireld but was denied by Lloris, then he beat Sanchez only to get the same answer. And when the reinforcements came on, in Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez, Spurs could handle them. Pochettino even sprang another surprise, putting on Danny Rose, for his first game since January, taking off Llorente and going 5-4-1.

That killed Madrid’s flow and ensured that Spurs got home with their point. But this was not just about that, it was about Spurs’ induction into the big time and the test of whether they can handle what Pochettino called “the reality of football”. On this evidence, that manager and his young team have nothing to fear here.