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Here are our Tottenham talking points after the Champions League victory against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday evening
Thomas Frank's two glasses of wine after Tuesday night's Champions League victory would have tasted good. As he savoured each mouthful, he may well have reflected on the bipolar nature of Tottenham Hotspur.
In the Premier League they sit 14th amid a dreadful run of form, yet in the Champions League they are currently fourth in the huge table and have won all four of their home games this season with a clean sheet to boot. They are now guaranteed at least a spot in the play-off round, while a win at Frankfurt next week would hurl the north London club straight into the round of 16 and have everyone dreaming of a miracle.
Spurs used to be known as a cup side in decades past, but they have now become something of a European side. The 2-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund made it 24 consecutive games unbeaten at home in continental competition.
For all of their attempts to declare it would never happen again, there are obvious parallels between last season's domestic and European form. The difference at this point - other than a trophy - is that due to those long-rumbling registration issues, Spurs have a stronger squad for their Premier League games than their remaining two European league phase ones.
Yet with 13 players unavailable, Frank and his team managed to grab the most-needed of victories.
Dortmund did go down to 10 men after half an hour with Daniel Svensson's unfortunate challenge on Wilson Odobert, which bore similarities to Brennan Johnson's against Copenhagen.
However, Spurs were up for this contest from the off before that, showing energy, tempo and a willingness to leave everything out there and the 52,713 crowd inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium reacted accordingly.
For one night everybody was together again. Dortmund, who have only lost one Bundesliga game this season, had more possession than they should have in the second half with 10 men but Guglielmo Vicario did not have a save to make until added time at the end of the encounter.
Had Randal Kolo Muani or makeshift midfielder and UEFA's player of the match Pedro Porro put away one-vs-ones in the second half then the scoreline would have better reflected Spurs' 16 shots to the visitors' six.
"Congratulations to Tottenham, a deserved 2-0 victory," admitted Dortmund boss Niko Kovac afterwards. "First half we didn’t play well. Very passive, not aggressive into one-v-ones and made it difficult.
"We knew the situation. We expected our opponent to be physically strong. We didn’t compete, conceded the 1-0. Then the red card, a tough one but at the end of the day the referee showed a red card. Better in the second half but not enough to win. We have to accept defeat and congratulate our opponent."
At the final whistle, there was a big cheer around the ground rather than the boos that have filled the stadium for much of the past year after games.
Frank and his team were able to walk around applauding the supporters in the knowledge that they had done their job this time and it had been appreciated.
Up in the stands, Dejan Kulusevski sat alongside Sweden boss Graham Potter, the midfielder awaiting his return to action with the knowledge that Champions League football will be there for him.
The suspended Micky van de Ven sat with his father Marcel, while Mathys Tel watched a game that he had hoped to be playing in, only for Dominic Solanke to reclaim his spot. Radu Dragusin was not present but that's because the big Romanian centre-back had an important life matter to attend to, as he was getting married to his partner Iona.
Most importantly from a Spurs sense, CEO Vinai Venkatesham and members of the Lewis family were watching on, notably Nick Beucher, the son-in-law of Vivienne Lewis, who has become a driving force of the family's involvement in the club.
Beucher, the co-CEO of Tavistock Group which is run by the Lewis family, was at lunch on Monday with Frank, Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange.
It's coincidental, as it was made clear informally earlier in the week, but there was something rather fitting about the media being officially informed via email around an hour after the final whistle that Frank would be holding his press conference to preview the game at Burnley on Thursday afternoon.
It's not like they waited for the result to be confirmed and therefore his job to be, as such emails are occasionally sent out after games, but it did feel like a collective sigh of relief from within the club.
Whether it proves to be the turning point or merely a stay of execution remains to be seen, but it was a night when the players looked to be fighting for the Dane. To do so again in the forecast drizzle and cold of Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon could be the ultimate test.
This was a night to enjoy though for Frank after a gruelling few days and he praised both his players and the fans.
"We all knew it was an important win to get and especially at home, of course, we haven't been as confident," he said. "So the performance and the win can we build on?
"And then I asked for the fans to help everyone, especially the team and the players, and they were exceptional, especially the first half. You felt it was one of those, how can you say, a little bit special European nights. You felt the energy was quite unique. So that was very nice."
The 52-year-old was asked whether this proved that his way was something worth sticking to and riding through the rough start for.
"It's about the team and everything, but of course I understand the question. What I feel the whole time is that the staff is with us, the players are with us, the ownership, everyone wants the same thing and we're on the same page," he said.
"We do a lot of things in the right direction and today was a big performance and a big win. Of course, I'm very aware of that, but I’m also very aware that we need to keep that consistency and of course turn that a little bit.
"Some of the other games we easily could have won, now we need to build on this. I just see a team that is running very, very hard and I think that's a very, very good sign. That's a healthy sign of a culture and we are building something a little bit step by step. We can easily have got better results the last three games, we just didn't, but we're running hard."
And for his post-match drink?
"I think two big glasses of red will be necessary, I will enjoy that," he said with a grin before departing the press conference.
With only 11 fit senior outfield players, Frank squeezed 10 of them into something that vaguely resembled a 3-4-3, albeit with a floating Xavi Simons and Destiny Udogie as a centre-back who was desperate to get down the flank.
The biggest positional shift was Djed Spence playing as the left winger and on the whole it worked with the England international causing the Dortmund defence nightmares with the same move each time, knocking the ball down the line and then inside and surging through.
Spence posted the caption 'New position unlocked" after the game with a string of emojis and a question mark. If the 25-year-old can provide end product to his game, namely a decent cross, then certainly it could be a positional shift worth trying more often, ala Gareth Bale, who was at the game as a pundit.
End product was certainly present on the other flank for Odobert. The 21-year-old was heavily involved in the first half in particular.
After 14 minutes, his missed volley from a partially-cleared corner in the Dortmund box only served to present him with the ball to drive towards the byline and pull it back to Cristian Romero to fire into the net with a deft flick.
The Spurs captain celebrated wildly with two fingers up on one hand and one up on the other - no, not those fingers - but perhaps signifying his two children and his partner. More worrying about the celebrations were the players behind him shoving him down the scary pitchside dip.
It was Romero's fifth goal of the season and with three assists as well, the centre-back's eight goal involvements mean he's above all of the team's attackers, barring the injured Mohammed Kudus and Richarlison, in terms of output.
Odobert was then involved in the sending off before bumping up his assists with another one for Dominic Solanke, which the striker managed to produce three touches off his two feet to knock over the line.
Xavi was the man who knit it all together and showed what he can become when he fully adapts to the Premier League. The 22-year-old played through the pain barrier, posting an image after the game of his bruised and swollen ankle.
Almost every good thing Spurs did came through the diminutive Dutchman as he popped up around the pitch. He has enjoyed playing against Dortmund in recent years and this would have felt comfortable in all but his ankle.
"I think [Spence, Odobert and Xavi] did very well. So we played that, how can you say, a little bit of a 3-4-3, both to match it up, but also to do it a little bit, taking care of it. And Djed, I think, did exceptionally well, especially first half," Frank told football.london.
"Xavi produced a lot of good moments and found good positions, and I think Wilson was electric at times. So I'm happy with that."
The return of Solanke was big for both club and head coach. The 28-year-old is an all-rounder. He runs, he presses, he holds the ball up, he can dribble or thread a pass through and he can finish, albeit messily on this occasion.
He won't care one bit though as after eight months since his last start, this was the light at the end of his ankle hell and his performance justified Frank's tough decision to bring him in for Tel.
Solanke celebrated his goal with a trademark anime pose but also with the classic ball up the shirt move as he and his wife Erica announced at Christmas that they are expecting their second child. The England striker has finally been able to get back on the pitch and score a goal to celebrate it publicly.
That Solanke managed 70 minutes on his first start since May last year said plenty about him, as did Uodgie's 95 minutes after seven weeks out, even if he scared Frank a bit at times in pushing himself too hard.
"The players are giving everything. I think that's an extremely good sign about the culture. Extremely good sign that they want to do everything. That they are together, that we are together. Very impressive and we were a little bit down to the bare bones with the available players," Frank told football.london.
"Destiny, he was definitely one of the ones I was talking about yesterday. We were constantly talking about, should we swap him in or not? But he was sometimes bombarding forward. I was thinking 'Oh no, Dest, please, come on, calm now. Be a little bit clever.' But very nice.
"Dom is the one that is normally a physical beast, but he's been out for so long. It means something. He gave everything, and I think he gave so much to the team. And of course also scored a great goal with a triple contact to get it over the line! But very good to have the two of them on the pitch."
There was a big moment for the club as well in the 62nd minute when 17-year-old centre-back Jun'ai Byfield stepped on to the pitch for his debut.
The teenager has been highly-rated within the academy for some time, working for years under Spurs' former U18s coach Stuart Lewis. Now Lewis is part of Frank's coaching staff, specifically tasked with easing the academy youngsters into the first team environment, and Byfield's debut was proof his role has worked.
The young defender has been taken in quickly by the senior group with a strong belief among them that he can become a top defender.
The moment Lucas Bergvall realised he could not continue after a lunging tackle on him, Romero came over to the side-line and the World Cup winner called for Frank, waiting for a moment as the Dane consulted with his coaching staff.
The captain and head coach then came together, looked out across the pitch, Frank leaning in as Romero pointed around explaining something. The plan pre-match had been to bring on Byfield in either the back three or on the right of a four and that presumably was what the duo were discussing.
"I got told either left side centre-back or right-back, so I was just prepared to do both really," said Byfield after the game.
"I knew quite early that I was going to come on. I was quite confident and got told a couple of times about my role before the game. So just mentally preparing, just doing the right things, drinking a lot of water so I didn't get cramped or anything.
"It's important that you prepare, even if you don't know you're going to come on. Just obviously preparing right, sleep well, eat well, those are the main things."
Byfield came on at right-back as the 902nd player to appear for the club and he emerged to a big roar from the crowd and two moments defined how his game would go.
The first was a booming header and the second was him shouting back at Dortmund substitute Julian Ryerson at not giving an inch after the 28-year-old aimed a verbal volley at the youngster.
It would prove to be a theme for Ryerson as 19-year-old Archie Gray shoved the Norwegian away on the other flank and squared up to him after another flashpoint.
"Obviously my parents told me not to be afraid of anyone and there was a moment in the game where one of them gave me some stick, I gave it right back to him. Just don't be afraid of people," said Byfield.
Everything the young defender did was clean and tidy. Even in one moment when he looked to have been passed down the flank, he turned and won the ball back. He also got involved going forward when possible. Physically he does not look his age, which benefits him in duels.
It was as accomplished a performance from a 17-year-old playing out of position on his club and Champions League debut as you're likely to find. Yes, the opposition had 10 men but it was a nervy situation in a must-win game that could have turned if their possession had resulted in a goal.
As the Spurs players had presumed would be the case, Byfield did not look out of place.
"No, no, not at all. Jun'ai has impressed throughout the training. The players trust him. Clearly they rate him highly. I rate him highly," Frank told football.london.
"One thing is to get your debut for Tottenham, the last five minutes, 4-0 up and everything is smooth. Another thing is to get your debut in the Champions League, a big night against Dortmund and we needed to win the game.
"He just came in, composed, calm, on top of this. Wow. I hope his parents are very proud. They should be."
After the game, the entire matchday squad signed Byfield's shirt for him. There was a theme to the messages with Gray writing 'Congrats bro, well deserved' and Xavi signing 'congrats my boy!!'. Udogie wrote 'Congrats lil bro'.
'Well done my brother' inked Byfield's friend and fellow 17-year-old Luca Williams-Barnett, who will be desperate for his own Champions League debut now.
The final words among the mass of signatures were left to the captain with Romero writing in the middle between Byfield's number 67: 'Se viene lo mejor ahoe' - the best is yet to come. That is the hope among many within the club for the youngster.
Romero's centre-back partner on the night, Kevin Danso, who was superb once again in filling in for Van de Ven, played a key role in guiding Byfield throughout his half hour on the pitch and the Austria international has taken on that job in training as well.
"He's been brilliant with me the whole time I've been with the first team," said the teenager. "I just knew going into the game he was going to help me and he was really good with me today."
Danso believes Byfield really is one to watch.
"He's been amazing. He trains with us a lot and he's a very, very, very, very good player," said the experienced centre-back. "Everybody was happy for him today to make his debut and he did an amazing job."
The player Byfield replaced, Bergvall, did not look as happy coming out of the dressing room after the game. When asked if he was okay, the Swede simply wiggled his hand and grimaced.
Frank will at least have midfield bodies back for the match at Burnley on Saturday with new signing Conor Gallagher able to come back in and Yves Bissouma looking to continue his renaissance. Frank will provide an update on Joao Palhinha at his press conference on Thursday.
Now Frank and Spurs must build on this night of relief, both on and off the pitch. The head coach must harness the positive feeling in the dressing room and take that to Turf Moor and Deutsche Bank Park in the next seven days.
Off the pitch, Tottenham must bring in attacking help for him in the transfer market. Spence was a makeshift option down the left, but Frank needs a ready-made big producer of chances and goals down that flank.
Tuesday night's victory may even boost Spurs' transfer efforts because prospective targets know they will be joining a club still in the Champions League going into the coming months.
Ally Champions League football, in the short term at least, with a vision of the future and an improved wage structure and like Gallagher, players will be convinced to come if Tottenham push hard in the market.
There is still 19-year-old left-back Souza to be announced once his documentation is finalised, after the Brazilian said his goodbyes to Santos and his former team-mates long ago.
Frank needs more though. This result held off the fans and the noise for a little while. With Daniel Levy's exit, so years of pent-up frustration required a new focal point and it's the Dane who is finding himself in the crosshairs with every word he says criticised as well as every decision on the pitch.
After the match, Frank congratulated the players in the dressing room and told them to win again at Burnley.
Only victories and attacking displays will start to turn the tide. This was a good night for Thomas Frank after too many rough ones. That wine will have tasted good and now his players need to put in a vintage performance in the wet wind of Turf Moor.
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