‘We sold Elvis and signed the Beatles,’ purred former Spurs goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt at half-time. It wasn’t original but it summed up the mood, and White Hart Lane roared its approval.
Jermain Defoe had struck twice on a rare start to remind Villas-Boas — and Roy Hodgson for that matter — that he remains one of the deadliest finishers in English football.
VIDEO Scroll down to watch AVB: A good win and a good performance
Goal king: Jermain Defoe scored twice in the first half as Spurs cruised to victory
Wrong side of north London: A Tromso fan pulls on an Arsenal shirt during the game
Sitting proud: The Tromso fan was happy to wear the red of Spurs' rivals
Christian Eriksen scored his first goal for Spurs with a delightful long-range strike near the end and £30million record signing Erik Lamela produced a stylish and impressive full debut.
There were three injury scares but none turned out to be quite as bad as they first appeared.
Danny Rose limped out before half-time after twisting an ankle and Mousa Dembele was carried off in the second half following a reckless tackle from behind by Tromso substitute Lars Gunnar Johnsen.
Younes Kaboul hobbled on despite a sore thigh until Eriksen made the game safe with the third goal. Having used all their substitutes, Spurs completed the game with 10 men but Villas-Boas expects all three to be fit for Sunday’s trip to Cardiff.
It was Lamela who unlocked the Norwegian visitors for the first goal. Lewis Holtby and Gylfi Sigurdsson won possession in midfield, Holtby rapped a pass at the Argentine and he laid it deftly into the path of Defoe.
The England striker responded with a sweet right-foot finish clipped over diving goalkeeper Marcus Sahlman.
It was his third goal in two starts this season, both in the Europa League, having dropped behind another signing Roberto Soldado for his club and behind Southampton’s Rickie Lambert for his country.
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