The Wembley crowd was in party mood and the fans sang Thomas Tuchel's name. Three straight wins without conceding, Harry Kane feted as England's greatest ever servant, a Nations League quarter-final all-but guaranteed.
Some 83 days after England succumbed to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final, we'd moved on. And then Tuchel showed that he hasn't, and revealed his underlying bitterness and hurt.
The England boss is clearly still smarting from the vociferous criticism that came at him from all angles following the World Cup exit. He'd made it very clear at the start of this extended international break that he wanted to look forward rather than back, stressing it is now all about the bright new future, with an assault on the Nations League trophy and, ultimately, the Euros in two years' time.
But, feeling re-emboldened after a very positive autumn for his England team, he bit back at those pesky journalists who'd dared to question whether he got the tactics wrong when 1-0 up and close to reaching a first World Cup final in 60 years.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing