Ten-man Tottenham made to sweat! Spurs eventually overwhelm plucky Qarabag in Europa League opener after Radu Dragusin's seventh-minute red card

Kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was delayed due to traffic chaos, but on the pitch, there was no need to wait for Europa League drama against Qarabag.

Spurs were reduced to 10 men within just seven minutes, as Radu Dragusin was shown a red card after hauling down Juninho while the last man.

Ange Postecoglou reacted by substituting Lucas Bergvall, and introducing Destiny Udogie to rebalance his defence.

Amazingly, Spurs were ahead just a few minutes later thanks to a calm Brennan Johnson finish after Dominic Solanke won the ball high up the pitch.

Johnson spurned a great chance to add a second before half-time, but Qarabag were also guilty of missing presentable chances against the 10 men, with Guglielmo Vicario particularly strong in goal.

They were made to regret it after the restart, when Pape Matar Sarr finished at the back post from a corner.

Before the hour, Qarabag won a penalty, after a foul from Yves Bissouma, but Toral Bayramov sent his effort high over the bar.

And Solanke added a third for Spurs to rub salt into Qarabag wounds soon after, finishing after Son Heung-min saw his long-range effort parried.

Job done for Tottenham, but this was not exactly comfortable.

While the scoreline may suggest a comfortable win, Vicario was superb in goal for Spurs. He made one particularly excellent second-half save to tip a rasping drive over the crossbar, and he commanded his area with authority. He also embarked on a 40-yard sprint out of his goal to sweep up after Spurs were reduced to 10 men; he is eccentric, but he was superb.

Dragusin made a terrible error. Admittedly, he was isolated against Qarabag's attack but having seen Juninho rob him, he should simply have trusted his goalkeeper to make a save, instead of hauling Juninho down, earning a red card, and depriving Bergvall, a youngster, of 90 important minutes. Postecoglou shook his head ruefully as Dragusin trudged off; the Romanian now has to win back his manager's trust.

Spurs play Manchester United this weekend in a huge Premier League clash. They then face Ferencvaros away from home in their second Europa League game of the season.