Tottenham were staring into the abyss with 19 minutes to go before Harry Kane and Tanguy Ndombele spared Jose Mourinho's blushes to reach the third qualifying round of the Europa League.
While viewers at home were left with no way to follow the game as the television pictures from Bulgaria cut out, fans faced an anxious wait after news filtered through that Georgi Minchev had given unfancied Lokomotiv Plovdiv the lead.
Immediately Mourinho reacted, taking Davinson Sanchez off and putting Lucas Moura on, but in the end it was Plovdiv who came to the rescue as two red cards sent them down to nine men.
Kane got the equaliser from the penalty spot for his first goal of the 2020-21 season before Ndombele, who has been much maligned since joining last season as the club's record buy, played the role of the hero in Bulgaria.
