Tim Sherwood seems to have no trouble provoking a reaction from some people. Match of the Day tweeter Gary Lineker for one and Benfica manager Jorge Jesus for two. If only it would work with his players.

Benfica were simply too good for Tottenham, who were unable to summon a response to the home truths served up by their manager both in public and private and have next to no hope of salvaging this Europa League last-16 tie in Lisbon next week.

The Portuguese were slick and clinical and thoroughly deserved the 3-1 first-leg lead which leaves Sherwood to work out a way to pick up the pieces, regroup and resurrect this campaign before it unravels completely.

It is another test for this rookie manager, who took a risk when he criticised his players after their sorry 4-0 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday, one which in hindsight seems to have backfired.

Spurs did not function and Sherwood turned his irritation on Benfica manager Jesus, sparking a row in the opening minutes which simmered and then erupted after Luisao had slammed his second of the night into the net to give the visitors a 3-1 advantage.

Jesus turned and showed three fingers to Sherwood, followed with a mime to suggest he thought the Spurs boss talked too much.

A mighty kerfuffle ensued. Sherwood marched down the touchline to engage his opposite number in a fierce conversation, with lots of finger jabbing, then various Benfica coaches joined in, attempting to calm Jesus down, only to find themselves on the wrong end of another angry verbal attack from their boss.

The fourth official seemed reluctant to get involved and the game drifted through its final moments with the two managers in close proximity, chipping away at each other. They were both deep in the Pardew Zone but managed to hold it together.

At the final whistle, the pair stood side by side, watching as the players shook hands and swapped shirts and Benfica’s noisy fans rejoiced in their corner of White Hart Lane.

Then, without a handshake, Sherwood spun on his heel and disappeared to the dressing rooms to digest another painful defeat.

Lineker sniped away from afar. ‘Outplayed’, said the former Spurs striker turned BBC anchorman, and he was not wrong. At no point were Tottenham in control.

The best they had were occasional frantic passages of play. For the rest of the time Benfica were firmly on top. They went ahead in the 29th minute when Rodrigo, once on loan at Bolton, applied a clinical finish to a lethal counter-attack.

The Spurs defence was unzipped by a delightful pass from Ruben Amorim deep in midfield and Rodrigo breezed in from the right, away from Kyle Naughton and curled his shot, low inside the far post

Having been unable to get Emmanuel Adebayor into the game at all in the first half, the chance to equalise came his way within three minutes of the restart. Christian Eriksen ran the ball left-to-right across the Benfica penalty box and nudged a pass towards his striker.

The Benfica back four stepped out but Adebayor stayed onside and the flag stayed down, only for the Togo international to drag his chance across goal and wide.

It was an untidy finish from the man who spearheaded the post-AVB revival and the last two games have provided more evidence for opponents that if you can keep him quiet, Spurs do not offer a lot else. Apart from this moment, Ezequiel Garay policed Adebayor skilfully.

Hugo Lloris produced a fingertip save to deny Amorim, turning over a dipping effort from 25 yards but from the corner Spurs slipped two goals behind.

Veteran centre half Luisao eluded his marker Younes Kaboul and leapt at the near post to head in.

Benfica are a slick and fluent team on the break but Sherwood must be furious to have leaked from a set-piece. It sums up his sentiments from Stamford Bridge about having those on the pitch big enough to take responsibility.

The home fans showed their frustration by singing for substitute Roberto Soldado, a wish eventually granted when he came on for Harry Kane, who made neat contributions early on but had faded.

Lineker took to Twitter once again to antagonise Sherwood.

Eriksen offered hope when he cut the lead, curling in a free-kick and for the final 15 minutes Spurs were able to inject more purpose and intensity into their football.

Still they were vulnerable at the back. Rodrigo nearly pounced for the third when Lloris misjudged a long ball down the centre of the pitch but the goalkeeper recovered and punched the ball out for a corner as the Brazil-born Spain Under 23 international stooped to head in.

The relief was brief. Six minutes remained when Lloris sprang to his left to beat away a header by Garay. Again, Spurs were loose as they defended a set-piece, this time a free-kick wide on the Benfica left. Luisao was first to the rebound, lashing it high into the net to spark the flashpoint on the touchline.

Guilherme Siqueira might have made it four, but Lloris made another save, the game ended and the crowd, somewhat inevitably, booed.

The mood can turn quickly at White Hart Lane, and it gets no easier for Sherwood. Sandro and Kyle Walker have groin injuries and will miss Arsenal’s visit on Sunday. Jan Vertonghen was booked and misses the return in Portugal.

The Spurs boss will have to pick his fights carefully in future.

—Daily Mail