Free-scoring Manchester City must have given the Premiership clubs some comfort from the first half display against Watford in the FA Cup tie on Saturday.
The second half, however, will merely have confirmed the worst fears of Spurs and every other rival to the four trophies in which Manuel Pellegrini retains an interest.
A second-half hat-trick from Sergio Aguero showed the Argentina international is back to his prolific finishing peak, while Stevan Jovetic, a £22m summer signing from Fiorentina, moved a step closer to adding his goalscoring talents to Pellegrini's squad on a permanent basis.