Football

Tottenham survive Man Utd comeback to reach League Cup semis

December 20, 2024 11:23 am

[Source: Reuters]

Tottenham Hotspur survived a furious Manchester United comeback to reach the League Cup semi-finals with a 4-3 home victory in a gripping tie littered with bizarre errors this morning.

Ange Postecoglou’s side were cruising against a lacklustre United with Dominic Solanke’s double and a goal for Dejan Kulusevski putting them 3-0 up after 54 minutes.

But the home crowd were left chewing their fingernails as two terrible mistakes by their keeper Fraser Forster allowed substitutes Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo to give United hope.

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There were still 20 minutes left when Diallo made it 3-2 and United were close to equalising on several occasions before Son Heung-min appeared to have sealed it in odd fashion, deceiving United keeper Altay Bayindir directly from a corner.

There was still time for Jonny Evans to head a third for United in stoppage time but a relieved Tottenham hung on to secure a two-legged semi-final against holders Liverpool.

Arsenal face Newcastle United in the other semi-final.

“Being 3-0 up we could have dealt with the game better, killed some time but we made it hard for ourselves, but the important thing is we won and we’re through,” Solanke said.

“That’s football, we stick together. Mistakes are a part of football, we dug in, we showed spirit and got the job done.”

Postecoglou’s side let a 2-0 lead slip to lose 4-3 at home to Chelsea in their last home game and for a while it looked as though their innate ability to shoot themselves in the foot was coming back to bite them.