Treble holders Manchester City paid a visit to Pep Guardiola's bogey ground with nary a win nor a goal to the team's name for the fourth round of the FA Cup.
But they found a way and it was disappointment for Spurs who went toe to toe with the champions before losing by a single goal at the end.
The team line-ups were tantalising, with plenty of attacking talent on show but James Maddison and Kevin De Bruyne on opposite benches, both chomping at the bit for a decisive introduction.
Another bench boy was City goalkeeper Ederson, and Ange Postecoglou clearly identified Stefan Ortega as ripe for the press, with Kulusevski and Richarlison charging him down in the early exchanges.
Despite the 'curse', City had the ball in the back of the net after five minutes. Oscar Bobb's tap-in was flagged offside and we sat back to let the VAR folks have their fun. No goal - a toe's a toe.
City enjoyed early pressure but Spurs grew into the game.
Julian Alvarez had a golden opportunity early in the second half when van de Ven let the ball run across the box, but he missed the target.
An hour in and the game was crying out for a spark. The introduction of De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku for Alvarez and Bobb for City might have been just the job. The noise levels lifted.
Minutes later and the anticipation grew with James Maddison preparing to come on, along with Oliver Skipp. Johnson and Bentancur were off.
It was after 80 minutes that the chance came. A Hojbjerg mistake fed Foden in the box and he fed De Bruyne, who missed a wide-open goal.
The Belgian made amends with minutes to go, putting a corner in to create a goal. Vicario thought he was impeded by Diaz but the VAR and referee were having none of it. Nathan Aké poked home the finish.
Substitutes used: James Maddison, Oliver Skipp, Dane Scarlett
9. Rodrigo Bentancur (5)
A hard-working performance alongside Hojbjerg for Bentancur, who must still be building up his stamina following injury. | Getty Images Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
10. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (5)
Will he/won't he leave? While he's here, he's still putting the legwork in and geeing up the crowd. The game was always going to be open, but he and Bentancur worked hard to plug the midfield. A brilliant challenge early in the second half stole a chance away from Gvardiol. His mistake in the last 10 minutes could have been very costly though. | Getty Images Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
11. Destiny Udogie (5)
It was hearts-in-mouths time after 27 minutes when Foden tumbled in the box. But Udogie made the right decision to play safe and cut out a ball heading towards Vicario. | AFP via Getty Images Photo: Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images