Tottenham Hotspur advanced to the last four of the Carabao Cup with a 4-3 win against Manchester United despite two dreadful errors that led to United goals from their goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
Ange Postecoglou’s team were cruising after an hour, 3-0 up thanks to two goals from Dominic Solanke and one from Dejan Kulusevski. But then it all began to unravel.
First Bruno Fernandes pounced on a loose Forster pass to set up Joshua Zirkzee from close range, then Amad Diallo chased down a back-pass and blocked Forster’s clearance straight into the Tottenham net.
Tottenham were hanging on in the final 20 minutes, only for their captain Son Heung-min to provide some breathing space when he scored direct from a corner (otherwise known as an ‘olimpico’). Then, when again it looked like the game was done, Jonny Evans glanced a header past Forster to make it 4-3 with 90 seconds to play.
Jay Harris and Carl Anka analyse the key talking points from a thrilling game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…
Forster errors gifted two goals to United
Forster has made a couple of excellent saves since he replaced Guglielmo Vicario in goal for Spurs. He kept them alive for long enough when they were losing 1-0 to Rangers in the Europa League last week for Dejan Kulusevski to score an equaliser. He produced an exceptional double save to deny Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto in the defeat to Chelsea.
In the 60th minute of this quarter-final, he palmed Joshua Zirkzee’s header off the line. The problem was that within five minutes he had thrown all of that good will away with a couple of awful mistakes.
Forster is not natural at playing out from the back but he has done what his manager has asked over the last few weeks. One misplaced pass is all it takes to spark danger and that is what happened when he tried to find Radu Dragusin but the ball was a couple of yards ahead of the defender.
Bruno Fernandes nipped in and set up Zirkzee for a simple finish…
Forster’s error a few minutes later was comical and will be instantly added to highlight reels of infamous goalkeeping mistakes.
Archie Gray passed the ball back to Forster…
And Amad Diallo chased it down.
Forster let the ball roll across his body onto his right foot…
And then tried to launch a clearance — but it smacked into Amad…
And cannoned straight into the net.
Forster looked embarrassed while Postecoglou was furious. Television cameras picked up Vicario’s stunned reaction on the bench.
Tottenham were cruising into the semi-final and made life difficult for themselves. It turned the final 20 minutes of this game into a siege — until Son scored from a corner to restore a two-goal advantage (briefly) late on.
Solanke continues scoring streak against United
Solanke has now scored five goals in his last four appearances against Manchester United. They have been split between two clubs under two head coaches and against two different managers.
No matter what system he is placed in and which individuals he comes up against, the 27-year-old finds a way to hurt United. When Spurs won 3-0 at Old Trafford in September, Solanke was a menace with the way he pressed United’s defenders and he did the exact same on Thursday evening.
Solanke’s goal in that game was a tap-in from a corner and he showed his natural goalscoring instinct again to give Spurs the lead. James Maddison and Son played a quick free-kick short and the ball found its way to Pedro Porro. The full-back fizzed a shot from the edge of the box which Bayindir parried and Solanke slammed the rebound into the net.
If that finish was all about reacting quickly, then the England international’s second goal was a work of art. He burst into space and controlled the ball, effortlessly skipped past Lisandro Martinez and drilled a shot low into the bottom corner. It was an exceptional goal from the striker who has now scored nine times in 21 appearances this season.
Solanke’s contributions were a huge factor in Spurs booking their place in the semi-final.
Jay Harris
Was Amorim targeting his old player Porro?
Everybody knows that Tottenham’s full-backs like to push high up the pitch. Djed Spence, who was making only his second start since he joined Spurs from Middlesbrough in July 2022, had an excellent performance on the left. The 24-year-old offered a threat going forward with his dribbling and made a couple of crucial tackles to steal the ball from Noussair Mazraoui.
It was a different story on the other side. Pedro Porro was involved in Dominic Solanke’s opening goal but it felt like Manchester United were targeting him. Ruben Amorim used to coach Porro at Sporting Lisbon so knows all about his strengths and weaknesses.
Throughout the first half, Porro kept following Diogo Dalot into United’s half and leaving a huge pocket of space behind him. Bruno Fernandes kept darting into that area which prompted Pape Matar Sarr to chase after him. In the 23rd minute, Sarr was booked for fouling Fernandes just on the edge of the box.
Later on in the first half, Fernandes escaped Sarr but his cross was cleared by Dragusin. All of United’s best opportunities were coming down the left wing with Dalot cutting it back for Christian Eriksen to shoot on multiple occasions.
Porro continued to push up throughout the second half but the rest of Tottenham’s defence covered for him and United were never able to find a breakthrough down that side.
Jay Harris
Where did United’s second half comeback come from?
When Solanke made it 3-0 for Spurs in the 54th minute, things looked done and dusted. United were set to go home, lick their wounds, and Amorim might have been inclined to make use of the additional training time freed up by getting knocked out at this stage.
However the Portuguese coach has demonstrated a knack for clever substitutions. FC Victoria Plzen got burned by some second-half changes last Thursday, and Amorim again made some tweaks to arrest some match momentum in London.
Amad and Zirkzee came on for the good-but-not-quite-good-enough Rasmus Hojlund and the that-might-be-your-last-starting-appearance-for-a-while Antony. Kobbie Mainoo replaced Christian Eriksen a moment later and while the team shape remained the same, United looked a lot more potent in front of goal.
The changes appeared geared to taking advantage of Spurs’ high defensive line. Postecoglou’s men were first warned of Zirkzee’s presence in the 62nd minute, with the Dutchman making a big header that needed to be palmed around the goalpost by Forster.
But then the mini-collapse happened. United’s first goal (artfully described by Mr Harris in the above section) gave the away side hope. The second came down from miscommunication building out from the back, but again there was Amad, one of the fastest thinkers in a United shirt to pounce.
Amorim didn’t rest on his laurels at 3-2, opting to bring on Alejandro Garnacho (who was dropped for the Manchester derby) for Manuel Ugarte. United were going for it, and when Garnacho’s shot needed an unorthodox save from Forster in the 82nd minute, you thought they might get an equaliser and send it to a penalty shootout.
Son’s Olympico, scoring direct from a corner, put an end to that in the 88th minute, but even when the game looked done and dusted another Amorim sub – Evans, who replaced Victor Lindelof before half-time – headed in a corner to make it 4-3.
Somehow United manifested an odd 4-3 defeat from what looked to be a straightforward 3-0 humbling.
Every week Amorim learns something new about his squad, and who might be best suited for his methods in the long run. Every week, United fans get a better grasp of just how good their head coach can be at making proactive substitutions.
Carl Anka
A nervy showing from Bayindir
Bayindir hasn’t had the most headline-grabbing of Manchester United careers. Signed last summer to be Andre Onana’s back-up, the Turkish goalkeeper featured for only 90 minutes in 2023-24, in the FA Cup fourth round against Newport County.
Things have improved, slightly, this season, with the 26-year-old becoming the starting goalkeeper in the League Cup and putting together decent performances in the previous two rounds against Barnsley and Leicester City.
Tottenham were the most difficult opponents he has faced in England and there were some nervous signs in the first half in London. While his short passing was solid, aiding United during early build-up, Bayindir’s long passing went a little awry. Only two of his long goal kicks found their intended target out of seven attempts.
Spurs’ opening goal owed a debt to United being slow to react to the second and third phases of set-piece defending. It also had root in Bayindir’s decision to parry Porro’s speculative effort back into the six-yard box, rather than palm it wide and behind his own goal. Solanke reacted well.
Spurs’ second and third goals had more to do with imbalances in the defence in front of Bayindir, rather than any shot-stopping weaknesses from the goalkeeper.
At his best, he can be an aggressive 1v1 shotshopper, but there are only so many shots one can reasonably expect to keep out before getting overwhelmed. That doesn’t excuse his odd positioning and decision to lead with his right hand when defending Son’s corner in the game’s dying minutes. Bayindir’s protests that Lucas Bergvall interfered with his attempt to block the cross fell on deaf ears and he was booked.
Fifty days had passed since Bayindir’s most recent appearance in a United shirt. Given Onana’s status as United’s Premier League goalkeeper, and United’s difficult FA Cup third round tie against Arsenal in mid-January, Bayindir may have to wait some time before his next go between the sticks.
Carl Anka
What did Ange Postecoglou say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What did Ruben Amorim say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Tottenham?
Sunday, December 21: Liverpool (H), Premier League, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am ET
What next for Manchester United?
Sunday, December 21: Bournemouth (H), Premier League, 2pm GMT, 9am ET
(Photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
