All week we waited for the inevitable outburst, the familiar howl of complaint. Jose Mourinho was given every opportunity to decry the Football Association's decision to let Tottenham play an FA Cup semi-final at their temporary Wembley home.
It was fertile Mourinho ground, conspiracy theory fodder. The outpouring did not come.
He was offered the bait, no doubt many times, but did not take it. And, by refusing, he gave his players no excuse for failure.
He won many tactical battles on Saturday, but that was the first.