Ange Postecoglou had talked about how keenly Tottenham felt their absence from European competition last season – a “real gap in our calendar,” as the manager put it. And so what was a wait for a further 35 minutes?

It was a night of transport chaos around White Hart Lane, overland trains suspended, roads blocked, seeing the kick-off delayed. It set the tone for a wild tie against Qarabag, Spurs’s Europa League curtain-raiser featuring a red card for their centre-half, Radu Dragusin, inside seven minutes and countless close shaves in front of their goal. How did they manage a clean sheet? Guglielmo Vicario was a big part of the reason.