Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has urged his players to "rediscover that belief" after the 1-0 defeat at AC Milan in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday continued their inconsistent form.
Brahim Diaz scored the only goal of the game in the seventh minute at the San Siro, although the hosts could have taken a bigger advantage to London for the reverse fixture on March 8.
Spurs barely created anything in Milan and after Tuesday's defeat in the first leg of the last 16 matchup and the weekend's heavy loss to Leicester – coming after an impressive win over Manchester City – Conte said it was his job to give his players more confidence.
"I think some players need some more belief, especially in attack. We need to rediscover that belief in we have lost in taking on your man, but there was great effort and desire," Conte told reporters.
"My job is to give players belief in themselves ... we definitely need to try and improve."
Conte has had to deal with serious injuries to Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma, which led to him having to pick youngsters Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr in midfield.
The Italian said the pair's performances gave him hope as he will have to do without Bentancur for the rest of the season while Bissouma needs an operation on a stress fracture to his ankle.
AC Milan v Tottenham player ratings
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AC MILAN RATINGS: Ciprian Tatarusanu - 6. Three shots on target from Tottenham might have made it look like Tatarusanu had a slightly busy night, but in reality he had very little to do. His backline kept him protected all night. AP -
Pierre Kalulu - 7. Stuck to his task well. Provided adequate cover for Saelemaekers the few times he bombed forward. Also made a number of last-ditch clearances. Reuters -
Simon Kjear - 7. Stayed close to Kane throughout the game and managed to keep him quiet. Came out on top in most of his aerial duels. AP -
Malik Thiaw - 8. Hardly put a foot wrong in the first half as he repeatedly provided cover for Hernandez. Should have scored his first Champions League goal when he headed Leao’s cross wide from close range in the second half. Reuters -
Alexis Saelemaekers - 7. Helped keep Son quiet on the right wing. The highlight of his night was a last-ditch sliding clearance to deny Son a clear run at goal in the 43rd minute. EPA -
Rade Krunic - 7. Helped to occupy Kane whenever he dropped deep to receive the ball. Kept things simple in midfield and covered well for Tonali whenever he joined the attack. AFP -
Theo Hernandez - 8. Milan skipper hardly put a foot wrong. He won the header that kick-started the attack for Milan’s winning goal. Enjoyed himself on the left wing both defensively and offensively. EPA -
Sandro Tonali - 8. Crucial in helping AC Milan play out from the back. Worked hard in the middle of the pitch and got forward well. Easily one of the Rossoneri’s best players on the night. Reuters -
Rafael Leao - 8. Had an impressive game when they could have won by three goals or more. Constantly got the beating of Emerson and combined well with Hernandez on the right wing. His touch let him down in the 89th minute when he was put through on goal by Giroud. EPA -
Brahim Diaz - 7. Followed his first shot by heading the ball home to give AC Milan a seventh-minute lead. Found very little joy against Perisic but tucked in well to help win the midfield battle. Reuters -
Olivier Giroud - 7. Found himself on the periphery of attacking action in the first half but was crucial in helping to defend aerial balls. Became more involved in the second half, and won more headers in attack to kickstart counterattacks for his side. Reuters -
SUBS: Junior Messias (Salaemarkers 77') - N/A. Looked very lively. Almost got the Rossoneri’s second goal with a close-range header a few minutes after coming on. Getty -
Charles De Ketelaere (Diaz 77') - N/A. Came on and worked hard to help maintain balance in the middle of the field. AFP -
Tommaso Pobega (Tonali 86') - N/A. Had too little time to make an impact. AP -
Ante Rebic (Leao 92') - N/A. Brought on to help run down the time. AFP -
TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Fraser Forster - 6. Couldn’t have done better for Milan’s opener as he made two impressive saves before succumbing to Brahim’s header. Lucky not to concede a second goal as the Rossoneri missed several chances. Has to do better with coming out to claim crosses. PA -
Cristian Romero - 5. Struggled throughout. Got beaten in the air by Hernandez on the way to Milan’s opener. Received what has now become a customary yellow card early in the second half for a dangerous tackle on Tonali and never looked assured on the ball. Reuters -
Eric Dier - 6. One of the few Spurs players that can leave the San Siro with his head held high. Made several last-ditch tackles to help out his fellow centre backs. He should have been more aggressive in closing down Hernandez. AP -
Clement Lenglet - 6. Stepped out of the defence a couple of times to help the attack. Almost created an opening goal when he cleverly beat two defenders in the 65th minute. AFP -
Emerson Royal - 5. The weakest link in Spurs’ defence. Repeatedly got bamboozled by Leao’s trickery and failed to provide adequate cover for Romero on the right side of Tottenham’s back three. Faired a little better in attack. Reuters -
Ivan Perisic - 6. Didn’t get forward but was diligent with his defensive duties. Kept Diaz quiet on the right wing and forced him to drop into midfield. PA -
Pape Matar Sarr - 6. Worked hard all night but couldn't help Spurs win the midfield battle. Became more involved in attack in the second half as he had a couple of pops at goal. Reuters -
Oliver Skipp - 6. Like Sarr, he also worked hard but lacked that bit of quality to unsettle Milan’s more established midfield. Rustiness probably played a part in his below-par showing. PA -
Dejan Kulusevski - 5. Another quiet evening for Kulusevki on the right side of attack. Thiaw and Hernandez doubled up to neutralise and frustrate him. Got hooked off in the second half for Richarlison. EPA -
Son Heung-min - 5. Constantly dropped deep to assist Spurs’ inexperienced midfield duo. Found little joy on the right wing and had few chances to make a difference in front of goal. PA -
Harry Kane - 5. Just like at the weekend against Leicester City, Kane failed to get any kind of service in attack. Got more involved in the second half but was still nowhere near his marauding best. AFP -
SUBS: Richarlison (Kulusevski 70') - N/A. Came on to add extra bite to Spurs’ attack. Had a shot blocked in the 74th minute. Worked had but had minimal effect on the game. PA -
Arnaut Danjuma (Son 81') - N/A. Had very little impact on the game. Getty -
Ben Davies (Lenglet 81') - N/A. Came on and helped Spurs avoid conceding a second goal late on. AFP
"To play this way in the Champions League and in San Siro in this atmosphere ... they played a really good game, I'm really happy," Conte said.
"This type of performance makes me more relaxed for the future because you consider that we could finish the season with three midfielders. I know I can count on these two players 100 per cent."
Despite the victory, Milan coach Stefano Pioli was left pondering what might have been as Charles De Ketelaere and Malick Thiaw missed golden opportunities to add to their aggregate lead late on.
Instead the seven-time European champions will have to defend a single-goal lead in London next month after a win which gives them a chance of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2012.
"Winning 2-0 would have been a better result, because we'll have an equally difficult match in London if not more so, but I can only be satisfied about the team's performance," said Pioli.
"It's obviously good, but in football it's the next match that counts. We can take a lot of positives from this match but Saturday (at Monza) we need to get back out there and win again."
