Ange Postecoglou blew out his cheeks as he removed his gloves with a visible air of relief as his depleted team staggered across the victory line.
On the pitch, there were players in lilywhite collapsing to the turf and stretching out tired muscles. Utterly exhausted and with nerves shredded. They had finished the game with five teenagers on the pitch and they had lived dangerously against a very ordinary Hoffenheim team.
And yet they won and that seemed to be all that mattered in the circumstances. It is a win that might prove restorative in the weeks ahead if it buys them time off.