It was a near-perfect night in north London, until Spurs gave up an 83rd-minute goal to make things nervy ahead of the second leg in Norway next week.

Tottenham beat Bodo/Glimt 3-1 in their Europa League semi-final first leg in north London after a dominant display, which was slightly marred by Ulrik Saltnes’ late strike for the visitors. Spurs appeared to be cruising towards a comfortable victory before the midfielder’s deflected strike gave the Norwegian side a lifeline in the tie ahead of next Thursday’s decider.

Doom and gloom has followed Tottenham Hotspur like a pesky shadow this season, rightly or wrongly. The specific genre of despondency changes with the context – sometimes an injury crisis of epic proportions brought the mood down,