They say football is a game of fine margins, and the nine millimetres which helped Spurs to this opening-day victory could yet prove significant come next May.
That was the distance between the white of the goal-line and the white of the ball when Jan Vertonghen’s header came down off the crossbar to give the visitors an early lead.
In a pre-technology age the goal would not have been awarded. Referee Martin Atkinson, however, felt a vibration on his wrist and there were no complaints when he relayed the news, despite the naked eye having you believe that goalkeeper Martin Dubravka had scooped the ball to safety. Such acceptance bodes well for a future in which VAR is prevalent.
It was that pair of scorers who looked by far the sharpest of the five Spurs starters who had appeared in the last four in Russia. For Mauricio Pochettino’s side were a little fortunate to emerge with three points after a performance which was more about perspiration than inspiration, especially beneath a belting midday sun.
World Cup Golden Boot winner Harry Kane looked in need of a sun lounger to rest his weary limbs, as opposed to being tasked with leading the line after just five days of training and the birth of his second daughter this week.
Mo Diame and Salomon Rondon cracked the woodwork for Rafa Benitez’s hosts in the second half as fine margins remained a theme. A draw, on reflection, would have seemed fair.
But after a summer of no signings, players returning late from their international excursions and a delay to the club’s new stadium, the aesthetics of Spurs’ maximum return mattered not.