Manchester United have been eliminated from the Carabao Cup after losing 4-3 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Ruben Amorim made five changes to his United team that won the Manchester derby, but there was still no place for Alejandro Garnacho, who was instead promoted to the bench after being dropped from the matchday squad last weekend.
Tottenham started the Carabao Cup quarter-final on the front foot, with Dominic Solanke scoring after just 15 minutes. Altay Bayindir will be criticised for bad goalkeeping, but the defence was caught napping for the rebounded finish.
United had plenty of control throughout the game but were not daring enough in the final third, lacking quality in our front play.
Tottenham extended their lead at the start of the second half when Dejan Kuluseveski took advantage of a poor clearance from Lisandro Martinez. That was before Solanke skipped through United’s defence to complete a brace before the hour mark.
Amorim’s side refused to throw the towel in after going three goals down. He made several substitutes as Joshua Zirkzee made an instant impact after scoring a tap-in from close range. This goal gave United belief and it wasn’t long before fellow substitute Amad Diallo made it 3-2 after closing down Fraser Forster.
This made for an exciting end to the game as nerves appeared in Tottenham’s defence, especially with Forster having a nightmare after the break.
United pushed for a late equaliser but Amorim’s side were unable to take advantage of Tottenham’s mistakes across the pitch. Then in extraordinary circumstances, the hosts increased their lead when Son Heung-min scored directly from a corner-kick.
The game wasn’t over yet as Jonny Evans scored a glancing header from a corner in stoppage time.
Without further ado, here’s how the players rated-
Altay Bayindir – 2
Back in the team tonight for another cup display but was guilty of shoddy goalkeeping leading up to Tottenham’s opening goal. Bayindir failed to push Porro’s shot wide, only to gift Solanke a close-range finish at the front post. The Turkey international also conceded a goal directly from a corner kick. He’s no Sergio Romero.
Leny Yoro – 6.5
A first Carabao Cup appearance for the 19-year-old centre-back. Tidy on the ball and put in a good tackle to prevent Son from entering United’s box in the first half. Always looked to get the ball forward.
Victor Lindelof – 5
It was demoralising to see the Swede’s match end prematurely due to injury after 44 minutes. Lindelof picked up a knock before he stormed down the tunnel with a stressed expression across his face.
Lisandro Martinez – 3
Made a wimpish clearance for Tottenham’s second goal after showing a degree of composure on the ball in the first half. However, Martinez’s second-half display was one to forget.
Noussair Mazraoui – 6
The Moroccan full-back was a doubt ahead of the game. It looked like whatever niggle he was carrying had an impact on his performance. Mazraoui wasn’t his usual 8/10 self against Tottenham after offering little in the final third.
Manuel Ugarte – 8
Covered a lot of ground in the middle of the pitch and was United’s best player on the pitch. Had a positive impact in defence and going forward with the ball.
Christian Eriksen -7
Sublime cross-field pass to Diogo Dalot after 9 minutes of play. Eriksen pulled the strings in the middle of the pitch before the interval but his influence started to fade as Tottenham took hold of the game. It will go down as yet another defeat for Eriksen against his former club.
Diogo Dalot – 5
Got forward but lacked end product. Dalot’s final ball left him down on multiple occasions.
Antony – 4
Another poor display from the Brazilian winger. Got pushed off the ball on multiple occasions and was guilty of giving up possession. Antony granted Tottenham a chance to attack United’s goal in the opening stages of the match.
Bruno Fernandes – 6
Found lots of space in behind Tottenham’s defence when United switched play. It was an erratic display but Fernandes still managed to cause problems for the hosts.
Rasmus Hojlund – 5
Tottenham tried to mark the Dane out of the game and succeeded for the most part. Quiet evening for the front man.
Substitutes
Jonny Evans – 6
Replace Lindelof before the break and was part of an unsettled defence in the second half. Evans scored a header in stoppage hope to give United hope late on.
Joshua Zirkzee – 7
Forced Forster into a full-stretched save in what was United’s first real opportunity after 62 minutes before scoring seconds later to pull one back. Continued to cause Tottenham problems after making an instant impact on the game.
Amad Diallo – 6.5
Struggled initially after coming on as he ran into trouble down the right flank, however, he never gave up and showed unbelievable tenacity to close down Forster for United’s second goal.
Kobbie Mainoo – 5
Tidy display in the middle after coming on.
Alejandro Garnacho – 5
Did very little after coming on late.
Manager
Ruben Amorim – 7
Although the Manchester United head coach admitted before the game that he had one eye on the Premier League clash with Bournemouth on Sunday, he made more than one substitution that turned the game around for the better.
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