Ange Postecoglou was impressed by his side's resilience after they responded to an early red card by beating Qarabag 3-0 in their Europa League opener.

Spurs were dealt a blow as kick-off was delayed by 35 minutes due to travel disruptions in North London, and once the game started, Radu Dragusin was given his marching orders just seven minutes in for a last-ditch tackle, receiving Spurs' earliest-ever European red card.

However, goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Sarr and Dominic Solanke turned the tide, even as Qarabag missed a penalty and had a late goal disallowed.

Postecoglou was underwhelmed by Spurs' slow start to the game but could not fault their performance after going down to 10 men.

"[The red card was] not ideal," Postecoglou told TNT Sports. "I wasn't happy as I felt we started really sloppy. We talked about starting with a high tempo, and it was almost like the delay got to us.

"We were passive in our passing and when that happens, someone switches off.

"The reaction after that was good, but I'm not happy with the start.

"Brennan's [goal] was great. With 10 men, we still pressed, which is what we wanted to do.

"[Johnson] has some confidence in him, which is great - we need him! We knew if we win [the ball], Brennan and Sonny [Son] would have the space."

Solanke scored for the second consecutive game for Spurs and was one of the key players as he had two shots, both of which were on target, accumulated 0.99 expected goals and had four touches in the opposition box, more than anyone else on the team.

Postecoglou was particularly pleased with how he led the line, especially as he continues to recover from an early-season injury.

"He has been great for us, Dom. He went through that long drought of two games without a goal!" Postecoglou added.

"He has been fantastic for us, not just goals, but his link-up plays. He is a typical striker.

"He is still working his way back to full fitness."

Solanke himself, though, was just pleased to kick off their European campaign and secure a third-straight win in all competitions.

"Very happy to get the win, the boys fought hard," he told TNT Sports.

"Going down to 10 men it could have been a difficult game, but we all stuck to the game plan, and it shows the spirit of the team."

Ten-man Tottenham recovered from an early setback to start their Europa League campaign with a commanding 3-0 victory over Qarabag.

Despite Radu Dragusin's early red card, goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Sarr and Dominic Solanke helped Ange Postecoglou's side to a third straight win in all competitions.

Just seven minutes had elapsed when the hosts were reduced to 10 men as last-man Dragusin dragged down Juninho after he was caught in possession.

However, Spurs responded brilliantly to take the lead just five minutes later, with Solanke stealing possession and feeding Johnson, who applied a neat first-time finish.

The hosts survived a scare before the break when Juninho steered wide from Elvin Cafarquliyev's cross but doubled their advantage seven minutes after the restart when Mateusz Kochalski helped a corner into the path of Sarr, who instinctively volleyed home.

Qarabag squandered a great opportunity to halve the deficit just before the hour mark when Toral Bayramov's penalty hit the crossbar after Yves Bissouma tripped Cafarquliyev.

Tottenham capitalised in the 68th minute as Kochalski parried Son's shot into Solanke's path and he put the game beyond the visitors, who were denied a consolation later on when Juninho's header was disallowed for offside.

Data Debrief: Spurs soar despite Dragusin's historic early bath

It had the potential to be a difficult night for Tottenham when Dragusin was shown a straight red card - Spurs' earliest in a major European match.

The defender also became the first Tottenham player to be sent off on his European debut.

Spurs recovered to take control of the contest, though they survived a scare when Bayramov hit the bar with Qarabag's first missed penalty in the Europa League after six consecutive successful kicks.

Tottenham captain Son Heung-min has voiced his concerns about the increased workload on players, saying his fellow professionals are "not robots". 

Son has become the latest player, after Manchester City pair Manuel Akanji and Rodri and Liverpool's Allison, to urge decision-makers to implement changes.

Rodri, who suffered a knee ligament injury in City's draw with Arsenal last weekend, even suggested that players could resort to striking against the hectic schedule. 

Last season, only Guglielmo Vicario (38), Dejan Kulusevski and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (both 36) played more games for Spurs in the Premier League than Son (35 - level with Pedro Porro). 

Furthermore, since 2009-2010, only Hugo Lloris (361) and Harry Kane (317) have made more appearances for Spurs in English football's top flight than the South Korean.

"A lot of players came out and said the right things and I think it was very important that someone actually came out to say the right things," Son said on Wednesday.

"Players are the main guys to have to say something, and it's definitely a lot of games.

"As a football fan, you want to see a quality game, not as many games as possible, and you don't want to see people or players struggling with injuries.

"It's definitely a lot of games, a lot of travelling [so] we have to look after ourselves which is sometimes very hard, and sometimes mentally and physically you're not ready and when you're going onto the pitch, then the risk of injury is massive.

"We are not robots, so I think we just definitely have to look after that and definitely reduce the games and play a better quality of game. I think this should be the aim."

Spurs played 41 games in all competitions last season having finished eighth under Antonio Conte during the 2022-23 campaign, missing out on European football. 

But in Ange Postecoglou's first season at the helm, he managed a fifth-place finish, meaning the Tottenham players will have extra commitments in Europe this year. 

And ahead of the opening game of their Europa League campaign against Qarabag, the Spurs head coach echoed his captain's comments. 

"I have spoken already about the fact we're getting to a real dangerous level about what our expectations are around players," Postecoglou added. 

"Instead of focusing on one or two tournaments, it's about the calendar. That is more of an issue.

"Players don't get a break between seasons any more like they used to. There are more tournaments both at club level, international level and continental level.

"So, it's going to get to a point where we are not going to have the best players out there playing and, even worse, them breaking down for various reasons.

"It's definitely something that needs to be addressed."

Benfica eased through to the Champions League group stage with a 5-0 aggregate thrashing of Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday, while Maccabi Haifa and Viktoria Plzen also qualified.

The three teams will now look ahead to the draw on Thursday when they will find out who they will be facing in the group stage.

Last season's quarter-finalists Benfica built on an impressive 2-0 first-leg victory against a rusty Kyiv side with first-half goals from Nicolas Otamendi, Rafa Silva and David Neres essentially killing the tie by half-time at Estadio da Luz.

Meanwhile, Haifa scored late on to earn a thrilling 5-4 aggregate comeback win over Red Star Belgrade in Serbia to reach their first Champions League group stage since the 2009-10 season.

A 90th-minute own goal from Red Star striker Milan Pavkov was enough to progress the Israeli side, who had been 2-0 down on the night after winning the home leg 3-2.

Haifa will be joined in Thursday's draw by Plzen, who also advanced after coming from behind to beat Qarabag 2-1 on aggregate.

A first-half goal from Filip Ozobic had put the Azerbaijani side in front after a goalless first leg, but Jan Kopic and Jan Kliment bagged after the interval to turn the game around and get their team into the group stage of the competition for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.