Antonio Conte insisted Tottenham could turn around their first-leg deficit after a 1-0 loss at Milan in the Champions League.
Brahim Diaz made an early breakthough, scoring in the seventh minute at San Siro when he nodded in from close range after Fraser Forster made saves from the Spaniard and Theo Hernandez.
Milan could have stretched their lead in the second half but spurned chances, giving Tottenham reasonable grounds for optimism ahead of the March 8 second leg in London.
Former Inter boss Conte wants the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to radiate the same type of atmosphere Spurs experienced at San Siro, believing that could help Spurs through to the quarter-finals.
He told BT Sport: "You have to play two games. It was a fantastic atmosphere. I know San Siro, and I know the difficulty to play in this atmosphere.
"For sure in the second game we have to play in our stadium and for sure all the fans will create the right atmosphere to push us to overcome the Milan obstacle."
His injury-hit team were crushed 4-1 at Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday, and Conte was without Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg due to suspension for Tuesday's last-16 first leg in Italy.
Pape Sarr and Oliver Skipp paired up in central midfield, with Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur sidelined due to long-term injuries, and Conte liked what he saw, to a point.
"I think it was better today – high intensity, and I think we played against a good team. Don't forget Milan last season won the league in Italy," Conte said.
"I think that to concede the first goal, we can do much better. We conceded a goal after maybe only five minutes.
"Then we tried to lead the game, we tried to create situations to score, but I think Milan defended very well. We had chances to score, but at the end we are talking about a defeat, a loss."
He said of Sarr and Skipp: "I'm really satisfied for both players. They played a really good game and showed the trust that we have in them, they repaid this.
"Don't forget we now have three midfielders and we have to continue maybe to the end of the season with these three midfielders, and to have this type of performance from Skippy and Pape Sarr makes me more relaxed because I know I can count on them 100 per cent.
"And then we have Pierre Hojbjerg who for us is a key player."
Skipp said of his first start in the competition: "It wasn't the result we wanted, but there's a second leg to come and we're still right in the game.
"There were things we could have done better, things we did well. It was nice to gain the manager's trust."
Steven Naismith handed two-year Hearts contract after spell as interim boss
Steven Naismith will continue to lead Hearts after being handed a two-year contract following his term as interim manager.
Naismith has been named as technical director with Frankie McAvoy as head coach, in order to comply with UEFA regulations until the former Scotland international earns his Pro Licence coaching qualification. Gordon Forrest will remain as first-team coach.
The former Kilmarnock, Rangers, Everton, Norwich and Hearts player took charge of the final seven games of the season and kept the Jambos in fourth place in the cinch Premiership.
Chief executive Andrew McKinlay told the official Hearts website: “We are thrilled to confirm Steven, Frankie and Gordon as our coaching team.
“We received a number of excellent applications, and, after a robust recruitment process, we believe the three were the best candidates to lead us into next season while sharing our vision for the club’s future.
“Steven is an outstanding young coach with a strong track record of improving players whilst also displaying a commitment to blooding young talent through the ranks.”
Real Madrid agree deal to sign England’s Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund
Jude Bellingham is closing in on a move to Real Madrid after the Spanish side struck a deal with Borussia Dortmund worth an initial £88.5million.
The 19-year-old moved to Germany from boyhood club Birmingham in 2020 and has long dreamt of moving to the LaLiga giants.
England star Bellingham is now on the cusp of completing his move to Madrid.
Dortmund confirmed in a statement that the Spanish side have agreed to pay 103m euros (£88.5m), with an additional amount of around 30 per cent of that fixed fee agreed.
If those add-ons are achieved, the deal could reach 133.9m euros (£115m).
Inter Miami reportedly leading the race to sign Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is reportedly set to join Major League Soccer side Inter Miami with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal understood to be out of the race.
The 35-year-old Argentina star had been strongly linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, a league which already features Cristiano Ronaldo and now Karim Benzema, with Messi’s two-year contract at Paris St Germain coming to an end this month.
However, the PA news agency understands a move to the Middle East is now no longer on the cards, placing Inter Miami in pole position for Messi.
The Major League Soccer side are co-owned by former England captain David Beckham and were founded in 2018, playing their first season two years later.
Miami recently sacked Beckham’s former Manchester United and England team-mate Phil Neville as coach and are currently bottom of the 15-team Eastern Conference, but they remain a fiercely ambitious club.
The PA news agency understands the Florida side have pulled out all the stops to sign Messi, tying up with various MLS partners like Apple.
A deal in principle has now reportedly been agreed that will see Messi head to the United States after PSG confirmed last week he would be leaving.
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