Tottenham Hotspur captain Hugo Lloris said his team had to overcome a "psychological battle" as the Premier League side showed their mettle in staging a 2-1 comeback against Marseille to secure their place in the Champions League last 16.
Victory secured top spot in Group D for the North London club and, in theory at least, a more favourable draw in the knockout round.
That prospect looked bleak at half-time, though, as Marseille defender Chancel Mbemba headed home to give the French club's own hopes of progressing a much-needed shot in the arm.
However, Spurs were a team transformed in the second half and fought back to equalise through Clement Lenglet before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scored a dramatic winner in the 95th minute to stun the Stade Velodrome
"It was a tough night. It was a great battle. I think it was more of a psychological battle because we could feel in the first half there was a team playing without the fear to lose – which was Marseille," Lloris told BT Sport.
"Then in the second half we faced a team that had the fear to lose because they were 1-0 up and one goal could cost their chances to go through."
Spurs advance along with Eintracht Frankfurt, who won 2-1 away to Sporting in Lisbon. Hojbjerg's last-gasp winner meant Marseille finish bottom of the group with Sporting dropping into the Europa League.
"We expected that type of game. We know the Velodrome is a difficult place to deal with and I think we showed great personality in the second half," Lloris added.
Tottenham claimed the victory despite being without the presence on the touchline of suspended manager Antonio Conte, while they saw Son Heung-min come off hurt in the first half.
The latest comeback win follows on from a 3-2 victory at Bournemouth in the Premier League, when they trailed by two goals and saw Rodrigo Bentancur net the deciding goal in stoppage time.
Marseille v Spurs ratings
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MARSEILLE RATINGS: Pau Lopez 6: Bar a couple of punches away, the Spanish goalkeeper was not called into action until first-half injury-time when he tipped Kane's shot over. Important hand on low Bentacur cross with Kane lurking at start of second half. No chance with either Spurs goal. AP -
Chancel Mbemba 8: Powerful defender caught Son with shoulder in first half that saw South Korean forced off injured. Played almost like an attacking midfielder in the first half and headed Marseille into the lead. Impeccable sliding tackle to take the ball off Kane late in the game. EPA -
Eric Bailly N/A: Defender on loan from Manchester United saw his old injury woes resurface and lasted less than 10 minutes before limping off. AP -
Leonardo Balerdi 7: Not tested in opening half but was impressive at the back as Spurs offered some threat in the second period. Picked up a silly booking for barging over Emerson. PA -
Valentin Rongier 7: The Marseille captain will have been pleasantly surprised at how easily his side were able to control midfield in the first half but was easily outmuscled by Lenglet for Spurs' leveller. AP -
Jordan Veretout 8: Summer signing from Roma was denied the opening goal of game – and first for Marseille - when Lloris saved his well-hit shot. His cross was headed home by Mbemba. AP -
Jonathan Clauss 7: Right wingback skinned Hojbjerg with ease in the opening minutes but wasted a good opportunity with a poor cross straight to Lloris. Chested down ball and volleyed wide on 21 minutes. EPA -
Matteo Guendouzi 7: One of four Marseille players with links to Spurs’ rivals Arsenal and helped team control centre of park in first half. Sloppy pass led to Spurs’ winner. Getty -
Nuno Tavares 6: Wingback on loan from Arsenal caused Sessegnon all sorts of problems in the first half but impact waned as the match went on. Did turn Emerson inside out late on but blazed his shot well over. Reuters -
Amine Harit 7: Glorious pass to set-up an early chance for Sanchez, Cracked a fearsome shot from distance just over in the second half. EPA -
Alexis Sanchez 7: Former Arsenal striker almost opened the scoring in the first couple of minutes but glanced his header just wide, then saw powerful shot saved by Lloris. Another shot looked goal-bound until Peresic blocked in second half. AFP -
SUBS: Samuel Gigot (On for Bailley 9’) 5: Beat Lloris and Dier to a corner but couldn’t direct header on target. Annoyed home fans with sloppy pass in second half and was subbed himself soon after. Reuters -
Sead Kolasinac (On for Gigot 74’) 4: The fourth and final former Arsenal player to enter the fray. Awful miss when he headed wide in final minutes. AP -
Issa Kabore (On for Clauss 74’) 6: No chance to make impact. AP Cengiz Under (On for Veretout 74’) 6: Brilliant cross to set-up fellow sub Klasinac who should have put team 2-1 up. -
Luis Suarez (On for Rongier 83’) N/A. AFP -
TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris 8: France goalkeeper showed strong wrists to block Sanchez strike and then produced superb stop to deny Veretout. No chance with Mbemba's goal. AP -
Eric Dier 7: Lucky to escape with crazy back pass looped over his own head in the 15th minute that Spurs managed to scramble clear. Improved as the match went on. EPA -
Clement Lenglet 7: On the left of back three, French defender lost Sanchez early on but Chilean headed wide. Towering header to put Spurs level with their first attempt on target. Reuters -
Ben Davies 7: Like all his teammates, guilty of gifting possession to Marseille too many times in the opening 45 minutes. And, like all his teammates, much better after the break. AP -
Ryan Sessegnon 4: Started at right wingback and struggled badly as OM controlled possession and were finding joy down his flank. Allowed ball to go out for a corner that resulted in Mbemba scoring. Swapped sides with Perisic but faired little better and no shock when he was hooked at half-time. EPA -
Ivan Perisic 7: Croatian’s crossing can be a threat but little chance to show that in an awful first-half showing. It was his perfect free-kick into the box that set-up Lenglet’s goal, Peresic's seventh assist this season. Getty -
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg 7: Chasing shadows as Spurs failed to get a foothold in the game until the second half. Cracked crossbar with 10 minutes left then finished brilliantly to seal Spurs’ win. Booked late on which means he misses next Champions League match. Getty -
Rodrigo Bentancur 7: Anonymous first half, brilliant second. Was closest man to Mbemba when defender had free header to put home side in front. Excellent ball across box almost picked out Kane straight after the break when he became Spurs' main attacking threat. AP -
Lucas Moura 6: Non-existent as an attacking threat in first half – like team as whole. Came to life after the break as Spurs finally decided to turn up and make game of it. Teed-up chance for Hojbjerg that Dane fired against the bar. PA -
Son Heung-min 5: Took a heavy blow to the face off Mbemba’s shoulder and was helped off pitch before being replaced by Bissouma. Had barely figured with Marseille completely dominating opening early on. Reuters -
Harry Kane 6: Never had a sniff until first-half injury time when Lopez tipped his shot over bar. Couldn’t find his feet to turn in a chance when Lopez spilled a cross after break, then finished well but caught offside. Getty -
SUBS: Yves Bissouma (On for Son 29’) 6: Still not producing performances that earned his big-money move from Brighton but played his part in second-half revival. EPA -
Emerson Royal (On for Sessegnon 46’) 7: Mixed bag from Brazilian after coming on. Saw his cross into the box almost result in Kane scoring but embarrassed himself by going down holding his face after being barged by Balerdi. Reuters -
Oliver Skipp (On for Bentancur 84’) N/A. AP Bryan Gil (On for Moura 90+3’) N/A.
Assistant manager Cristian Stellini put the win down to "fitness, personality and energy" and added: "In this type of stadium and this type of match, it is not easy. The stadium was very hot in the first half, but we need to try to play all 90 minutes on the same level."
They were without the presence on the touchline of Conte, suspended after being shown a red card at the end of last week's 1-1 draw with Sporting, when a VAR call denied Harry Kane a last-gasp winner.
And the visitors also had to deal with losing South Korean forward Son to a head knock in the first half.
"In this moment we don't know," Stellini said when asked if Son had been left concussed after an aerial challenge with Mbemba.
"We have to wait for the medical assessment, but I saw him in the dressing room. We celebrated with Son as well."
Igor Tudor's team were also dealt an early blow when their former Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly came off with a hamstring injury.
Yet they started strongly and Lloris had to make two key saves to deny Alexis Sanchez and then Jordan Veretout in the first half before imposing Congolese defender Mbemba headed them in front in the second added minute at the end of the half.
Spurs offered hardly anything in the first half but reset at half time and drew level when Lenglet headed in an Ivan Perisic free-kick.
Kane had a goal disallowed for offside before Hojbjerg crashed a shot off the bar 10 minutes from time.
Sead Kolasinac then missed a golden chance for Marseille and Hojbjerg had the last laugh as the hosts pushed forward and left themselves exposed.
"The players didn't hear me. I was telling them to stay back but they couldn't hear me because of the crowd," said Tudor.
