Geoff: Great going forward, horrible at the back and completely ran out of steam. A win was critical and puts us in a great position to avoid extra play-off games. Scary having to rely just on school kids from the bench, though, and if there aren't two or three first-team level signings in the next week, this might be as good as it gets.

Considering Hoffenheim are 16th in the Bundesliga and 27th in the Europa League, this marks an important opportunity for Tottenham to deliver some optimism in a season that has been memorably tough. Spurs may be 15th in the Premier League but they are in strong standing in all of the cup competitions – they are through to the FA Cup fourth round,