Seven-time European champions and 18-times winners of the Italian league, AC Milan are rarely cast as underdogs, yet they thrived in the role on their way to Wednesday's shock 2-0 Champions League win over Barcelona.
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Despite playing at home in front of a 75 000 crowd, coach Massimiliano Allegri was clearly aware of his team's limitations and accepted that his side would have to concede most of the possession to Barcelona.
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The Catalans had enjoyed 65 percent of the ball before Milan opened the scoring in the 57th minute, just as Allegri had predicted they would before the match.
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But, rather like Chelsea in last year's semifinal, Milan managed to nullify Barcelona's attacked by pulling all their players back into the last third of the defence, creating an almost impenetrable barrier.
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It worked remarkably well and not even the combination of Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi could find a way through.
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"It was an extraordinary game from a defensive point of view as we didn't concede anything to Barcelona," Allegri said.
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A season which started disastrously has suddenly come good for Milan as Allegri coaxes the best out of group of players who many thought would struggle to compete both domestically and in Europe.
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Allegri's future was the subject of almost weekly speculation back in September and October, yet the unflappable coach is now the hero of the hour after his side became only the second this season to prevent Barcelona from scoring.
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"We did very well and I have to say that our coach was very, very good in my opinion," said chief executive Adriano Galliani, who has stood by Allegri from the outset.
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"We played a perfect match. We did well to prevent them from getting inside the box."