Back on the turf where the initial wounds of a bruising season were inflicted and Manchester City set about cleansing some of the scars.
It was here in Tottenham in the Carabao Cup in autumn that Pep Guardiola's team swallowed their first defeat, which somehow turned into five in a row, culminating in a 4-0 hammering by Spurs at the Etihad Stadium.
That sequence was extended to just one win in a dozen. That rattled confidence and that in turn appears to have heralded the end of an era. And maybe even terminated one or two City careers. What happens between now and May will determine the extent of the damage.
There is an FA Cup and Champions League qualification to chase, and victory in north London brought some relief for Pep Guardiola, three days after the pain of losing to Liverpool, the team who look set to succeed his as champions.
Erling Haaland settled the contest. Back in the team and back in the goals inside 12 minutes, taking him to 28 for the season in all competitions.
He thought he had number 29 in stoppage time, only for it to be ruled out for handball after a long VAR check. Haaland had barrelled through challenges from Archie Gray and Kevin Danso as the ball bounced around at chest height.
It might have hit him on the upper arm. It might not. The footage was inconclusive but, ultimately, City did not care. 'We won it doesn't matter, I didn't see it, it was not clear,' shrugged Guardiola, who was more concerned by the way his team lost control after the interval.
'The game was open in the second half because we didn't close it in the first. We should have closed it. There's always a lesson. Never ever forget to play because when you do the opponents will make a step up.'
For an hour it was like watching vintage City. The final half hour was more like the new, erratic City and they had to defend for their lives as Tottenham detected an equaliser and gathered momentum kicking towards the South Stand.
Ederson made a fine late save from Son Heung-min and Spurs were still pressing for an equaliser in the final seconds, after the handball fiasco, when Pape Matar Sarr headed the last chance over from close range.
'Disappointing to lose but we looked more like us,' was Ange Postecoglou's verdict. 'First half, we were too eager to get forward, really wasteful and allowed City to get into the rhythm of their game.
'Second half, we dominated the game and the territory. Relentless, aggressive football against a good opponent and we never tapered off. We got stronger if anything. Just missing a goal.'
In truth, anything but a win would have been harsh on City, such was their superiority in the first half, and Jeremy Doku in particular, who excelled on the left wing, tormenting Pedro Porro, who could not work out whether to stand off or engage his winger.
Whichever Porro chose to do, seemed like the wrong option as Doku skipped past or shaped crosses around him and he created the goal with a low cross deflected to the feet of Haaland, who finished with a simple side footer at the near post.
Guglielmo Vicario made saves from Doku, low from the edge of the box, and Haaland, at close range. Savinho swept in from the right, unmarked onto another Doku cross, only to see his effort skid over off the turf.
Spurs struggled to get out of their own half at times. Having started with Son and Dejan Kulusevski on the bench, they could have done with more from their youthful front three. Ederson was hardly tested in the first 45 minutes and the half time whistle was met with groans.
But Postecoglou resisted the urge to make substitutions at half time and his reward was to see his team back in the game even before he sent on the cavalry with a quadruple change. Porro, after all his problems with Doku, sparked the gear change with a charge forward and a wonderful low, fizzing cross.
Wilson Odobert, who came sliding in at the back post, could not turn it on target but it charged the home crowd. Postecoglou's team found a brisker tempo and more intensity and were better once Son, Kulusevski, Sarr and Djed Spence were sent on.
City came under sustained pressure for the first time in the game and Guardiola's response was to send on Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva, which regained a little control and they become only the second team to stop Spurs scoring at home in the Premier League, and the first since Arsenal in September.
Only a small reward by Manchester City's standards but these are different times. They turn to the FA Cup as Spurs, still pinned in the bottom half of the Premier League, rest and dream of the Europa League.