Had Lee Kang-in not drilled a strike into the bottom corner from the edge of the box, Tottenham would almost certainly have returned from Udine in possession of the UEFA Super Cup.
They had, by Thomas Frank's estimations, put in a "perfect" performance in the first 75-80 minutes against Paris Saint-Germain and led 2-0 as the clock moved into the 85th minute.
But Lee did find the bottom corner. Just as Goncalo Ramos did turn home to equalise in stoppage time. And Nuno Mendes did hammer home the winning penalty in the shootout, after Micky van de Ven had his effort saved and Mathys Tel missed the target.
Frank now has a little over two days to lift the mood in the Spurs camp ahead of their Premier League opener against Burnley on Saturday.
The lessons, though, feel broadly the same as they would have been had Frank's side eased to a 2-0 win and lifted the trophy.
Spurs did drop too deep as they tired and invited pressure from PSG, who were reinvigorated by their substitutions and jumped on an increasingly passive opposition. It is also true that Spurs did not deal with the late pressure well and had there been another five minutes to play, it would have been no surprise had PSG found a winner.
However, those caveats should not overshadow what was for the majority of the night a superb display from Spurs and one that offers real promise as to what the Frank era can bring.
The Spurs boss switched to a back-three system for the first time, a decision he made the day after his side's heavy defeat to Bayern Munich last week.
"It was a special operation," Frank explained. "In medical terms, the operation succeeded but the patient died. So not that good in the end. But we worked on a gameplan that was a little bit different and (it was) very close to succeeding.”
It is hugely encouraging that Spurs were able to implement a new system so successfully barely a month into Frank's reign. That they did so against the Champions League holders only adds strength to the argument that Frank's tactical versatility and specific plans will serve them well in the biggest games.
There were suggestions at the end of last season that the Spurs squad would be unhappy if Ange Postecoglou lost his job, such was the connection he had. The workrate on display in Udine showed Frank already has the buy-in from his players.
If Spurs are to carry out Frank's plans over the full 90 minutes and indeed the course of a season, he must be backed. The current squad needs more if it is to compete across four competitions.
James Maddison is out for the majority of the season and Dejan Kulusevski is a long-term injury absentee. Spurs are in desperate need of some creativity in midfield, a player to provide the incisive passes to go with the ball-winning and hard-working types already in the squad.
That void can to an extent be filled against the top opposition, when Spurs can be compact and pick their moments to press and counter. Against teams who will drop behind the ball and allow Spurs to dominate possession, as Burnley will likely do this weekend, that particular gap in the squad could be painfully apparent.
Whether it be Eberechi Eze or another No10, the pressure is on Daniel Levy and the club's hierarchy to act in the final weeks of the transfer window.
Frank has already provided Spurs with the kind of structure and defensive platform that had been sorely lacking. In his first competitive match in charge, he was minutes away from overseeing a win against the best team in Europe last season.
For all he joked the patient had died in Udine on Wednesday, Frank and his players go into the Premier League season with real signs of life. The club must ensure the longer-term diagnosis is a positive one.
