Tottenham Hotspur put aside their woeful domestic season with a 3-1 home victory against Norway's Bodo/Glimt leaving them within sight of the Europa League final on Thursday.
Brennan Johnson's header after 37 seconds and a clever James Maddison finish put Tottenham 2-0 ahead at the break and Dominic Solanke increased their advantage just past the hour mark.
But Tottenham rarely make things easy for themselves and there was a late twist as captain Ulrik Saltnes's deflected effort gave Bodo/Glimt hope for next week's second leg which will take place inside the Arctic Circle.
"We are pleased and I think before the game if you had said we would have a two-goal cushion we would have been happy with that," Johnson said.
"We were frustrated to concede but they are a tough team and we are happy with the performance."
Tottenham are on course for their worst Premier League season since 1993-94 with 19 defeats from 34 games leaving them in 16th place and manager Ange Postecoglou facing an uncertain future at the north London club.
The Australian former Celtic manager was widely-mocked when he claimed he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club, but when his side cruised into a 3-0 lead in front of a buoyant crowd, a shot at glory in Bilbao loomed.
Saltnes's late reply flattened the mood in the stadium and injuries to Maddison and Solanke that forced them off were a worry, but Tottenham are still in a strong position.
Tottenham got a dream start when Pedro Porro's cross was headed back across the area by Richarlison and Johnson was unmarked to nod his header past Nikita Haikin.
The hosts dominated and Porro was the architect again in the 34th minute with a long diagonal pass that Maddison controlled superbly before cutting back a shot that crept in.
Bodo, the first Norwegian team to reach a European semifinal, finally came alive just before halftime when Ole Blomberg volleyed narrowly over.
Their hopes of extending their adventure appeared to have receded when Solanke tucked away a rather harsh penalty given after a VAR review.
Saltnes's shot, which deflected off Rodrigo Bentancur to beat Guglielmo Vicario, breathed new life into the semifinal though and Tottenham can expect a stern test of their resolve on Bodo's artificial pitch next Thursday.