Tottenham beat Manchester United 4-3 to set up a Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool, on a night full of horrific goalkeeping howls and defensive errors.
These two sides have had frustratingly inconsistent seasons and their backlines showed exactly why that was the case, with error-strewn performances in North London that saw both sets of supporters desperate and roaring in a rollercoaster match.
Fraser Forster twice looked for United goals with the ball at his feet, allowing Ruben Amorim's team to come back from 3-0 to 3-2. But as the visitors piled on and threatened an equalizer as tensions rose in Tottenham, Altay Bayindir let Heung-Min Son's corner go in over his head.
Add that to his poor parry for Dominic Solanke to open the scoring that night and it's difficult to judge which stand-in stopper had the worst performance, but they weren't alone.
Sky Sports' Gary Neville slammed Lisandro Martinez for his 'weak' tap to Dejan Kulusevski for Spurs' second goal, which came just 46 seconds into the second half. The home side smashed their way through United's defense again soon afterwards, with Solanke Martinez stepping inside before firing through the legs of Jonny Evans to seemingly put Spurs into cruise control.
Things are rarely that simple for Spurs though, and Forster's poor pass into his own penalty area was pounced on by Bruno Fernandes for Joshua Zirkzee to tap in before the 'keeper was chased for a second time by Amad Diallo. Even deep into stoppage time, Spurs found the ability to concede from a set-piece, with Evans nodding in to ensure the final seconds were as chaotic as before.
When the final whistle blew, there were loud cheers from the home fans. Their hopes of ending their trophy drought have been fueled, but if their last four clashes with Liverpool, who they drew against after the match, are so wild, it's impossible to say whether they will make it to Wembley or not.
Man Utd's momentum after victory in the Manchester derby has now stalled. From the off-field issues surrounding Marcus Rashford's future to the on-pitch issues, Amorim has a big task on his shoulders – although both he and Ange Postecoglou will hope their sides can achieve more consistent and controlled success in the future as their long list of absentees returns.
Postecoglou: Aren't you entertained?!
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou on Sky Sports:
“We made it more difficult than it should have been, we controlled well, played very well, it looked like we were going to manage the game and then two unfortunate moments, the first affected Fraser and the second came as a result of that. But we showed character and scored a fourth.
“I like the whole game. Aren't you entertained? I know the studio is probably going to collapse because of my lack of tactics.
“We have so many absences at the moment, central defenders, kids on the bench. If we get through this period we will be able to get enormous growth from it.”
Amorim: We disconnected for eight minutes and it cost us a lot
Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim:
“We controlled possession. We weren't the best team all game, but in most parts I think we were the best team. We weren't connected for eight minutes and it was difficult to recover from that, but the boys did well.” great job recovering. We were so close to the draw, but the fourth goal was very difficult for us.
“We had no connection for eight minutes and that cost us the match.”
On whether the decision to leave Rashford out again was a mistake: “If I think I'm doing the right thing for the team, it's never been a mistake. We have to make a selection. It wasn't a mistake because I think that I'm doing it right.” the best for the team in my way of seeing.”
“If it wasn't serious, it would be hilarious!” How Sky experts reacted…
Jamie Redknapp:
“If it wasn't so serious it would be hilarious! But it was a masterclass in how not to watch a Tottenham game. It was crazy to watch but a big result for Spurs that puts them in the semi-finals. ” but how often do we see it from them?
“I don't know how the manager does it sometimes, he pulls his hair out, but some things are his fault, like passing the ball back to the goalkeeper. Forster is the worst player on the pitch with the ball.” , so stop giving it to him.
“Absolute madness at times, but the chaos was so much fun.”
Gary Neville:
“Spurs deserved to win in the end, but what a strange game of football, mistakes galore, goalkeepers everywhere and Spurs come through in the end.
“You felt it was a big night for Postecoglou and Spurs and maybe that got them over the line in the end.”
Jamie Carragher:
“The way Spurs have thrown away leads at times this season, you could just feel the shift in momentum in the stadium.
“Everyone felt the same when Man Utd scored their first goal, it was right when United were going to get the second goal.
“What I'm saying is that Spurs are the most entertaining team in this competition and every time I go for them it's a great game and they've had another absolute cracker here.”
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