Tottenham Hotspur’s European adventure lost its innocence and the team lost their 100 per cent record in the Uefa Cup last night, but this was a performance as admirable as the trouble in the stands was grotesque.

Had Tottenham not been knocked off course by a highly debatable refereeing decision in the first half, the outcome of this quarter-final first leg might have been very different. A fierce start left Seville, the Uefa Cup holders, looking nothing like a side sitting in second place in La Liga, two points behind Barcelona.

Robbie Keane scored with barely 60 seconds gone, but after 18 minutes, Alain Hamer — Luxembourg’s finest referee — awarded a penalty when Paul Robinson swiped the ball from the feet of Adriano, the Seville winger, who was rounding the goalkeeper.

“I got two hands on the ball and I was devastated when he gave the penalty. It was a ridiculous decision,” Robinson said. Keane described the award as “a disgrace” and Martin Jol, the Tottenham head coach, agreed. “Two-one — before the game we would have taken it, but I’m disappointed by the penalty decision,” he said.

After Seville equalised the play was even, but the Spanish side added a second shortly before half-time.

Juande Ramos, the Seville coach, is said to be taking English lessons. He may also be visiting the same optician as Arsãne Wenger, because he said that he did not have a good view of the decision. He is in no doubt, though, that the second leg will be close.

“The goal advantage is important and it’s going to be tough at White Hart Lane,” he said. “With such a tight contest, it’s a slender lead.”

After this display and result, the return leg has the air of an acid test. On this evidence, Tottenham are capable of overcoming the Spanish side but will have to show authority as well as ability.

“You could say it’s 50-50,” Jol said. “They have three or four outstanding players but the same applies to us.”

The forward partnership of Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane inspires confidence; Tottenham’s defensive vulnerability undermines it. A clean sheet at home seems crucial but Seville are certainly a level beyond opponents Tottenham faced in previous rounds, when they won eight successive matches.

Ramos had fretted that the Holy Week commemorations might dampen the fervour of Seville’s support. That fear was baseless, but his team’s defence certainly seemed distracted by something. A run by Dimitar Berbatov run provoked panic, the ball was not cleared, Berbatov reclaimed it on the edge of the area and slipped Keane clean through. His shot was saved by Andrés Palop but the Ireland forward knocked in the rebound.

Tottenham were successfully containing the threat of Daniel Alves, Seville’s attack-minded right back, but they were abruptly jolted out of their positive mood after 18 minutes.

Paul Stalteri’s back-header hit Pascal Chimbonda, who was filling in at centre back. The ball fell kindly for Adriano. Robinson tackled him but the referee gave a penalty. The goalkeeper was outraged and received a yellow card for bouncing the ball off the turf in frustration.

A bitchy build-up to the game suggested that Jol and Frédéric Kanouté are not the firmest of friends. Jol sold the Mali striker to Seville for £4.4 million in 2005, apparently frustrated by his inconsistency. With 23 goals, he is Spain’s most prolific marksman this season.

This week, Kanouté accused Jol of not being supportive enough, while the Dutchman damned him with faint praise, saying that Kanouté was better at home than away and that many of his goals came from tap-ins and penalties. The Tottenham head coach was proved right when Kanouté casually sent Robinson the wrong way from the spot.

Tottenham’s defence was exposed after 36 minutes when Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Kanouté’s strike partner, headed the home side into the lead.

Despite the distracting ugliness unfolding in the stands — during the second half, a line of stewards and riot police stood in front of the away end just a yard or so from the corner flag — Tottenham maintained their focus, although Seville players’ willingness to collapse under the slightest contact clearly irked the London club. “It’s a different culture, we have to deal with it,” Jol said.

In an even second period with few good opportunities, Kanouté glanced a header narrowly wide. With six minutes left, Berbatov and Keane combined adroitly to set up a good chance for Steed Malbranque, but the substitute shanked his shot tamely wide.

Still, Tottenham have a fighting chance of going through; such a shame that, in a difficult week for English football abroad, fighting was precisely the problem.

Seville (4-4-2): A Palop — D Alves, J Navarro, J Escudé, D Castedo (sub: I Dragutinovic, 68min) — J Navas, Renato (sub: J MartÍ, 60), C Poulsen, Adriano — F Kanouté, A Kerzhakov. Substitutes not used: D Cobeño, S Valente, E Chevantón, A Hinkel, E Maresca. Booked: Castedo.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-2): P Robinson — P Stalteri, M Dawson, P Chimbonda, Lee Young Pyo — A Lennon (sub: S Malbranque, 80), J Jenas, D Zokora, T Tainio (sub: H Ghaly, 84) — R Keane, D Berbatov. Substitutes not used: R Cerny, Mido, J Defoe, A Taarabt, P Ifil. Booked: Robinson, Lee, Tainio, Zokora.

Referee: A Hamer (Luxembourg).

Benfica hit back

Benfica fought back from 3-0 down to score two valuable away goals in as many minutes in a 3-2 defeat by Espanyol in their quarter-final first leg. Goals from Raúl Tamudo and Albert Riera in the first half, and a second-half header from Walter Pandiani, looked to have secured a semi-final spot for the Spanish side, before Nuno Gomes and Simão hit back.

Another Spanish side, Osasuna, beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0, while AZ Alkmaar and Werder Bremen shared a goalless draw. Olegário Benquerença, the Portuguese referee, rescinded a decision to send off Gretar Steinsson, of Alkmaar, for two yellow-card offences after it was pointed out that the player had not previously been cautioned.