Tottenham Hotspur reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup with a 4-3 win over Manchester United, despite two terrible mistakes that led to goals from United goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

Ange Postecoglou’s team were 3-0 ahead after an hour thanks to two goals from Dominic Solanke and one from Dejan Kulusevski. But then everything started to unravel.

First Bruno Fernandes pounced on a loose pass from Forster to set up Joshua Zirkzee from close range, then Amad followed up a back pass and blocked Forster’s free throw straight into the Tottenham goal.

Tottenham held on for the final 20 minutes, only for their captain Son Heung-min to be given some breathing room when he scored straight from a corner (also known as the ‘Olimpico’). Then, just when it looked like the game was over again, Jonny Evans fired a header past Forster to make it 4-3 with 90 seconds to play.

The draw for the semi-finals took place after the game, with Spurs scheduled to play Liverpool and Arsenal scheduled to play Newcastle. Both matches will be played over two games.

Jay Harris and Carl Anka analyze the key talking points from a thrilling game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…

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Forster errors gave United two goals

Forster has made some excellent saves since replacing Guglielmo Vicario in Spurs’ goal. He kept them alive long enough as they lost 1-0 to Rangers in the Europa League last week for Kulusevski to equalize. In the defeat against Chelsea he made an extraordinary double save to deny Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto.

In the 60th minute of this quarter-final he blocked Zirkzee’s header off the line. The problem was that within five minutes he had destroyed all of his goodwill with a few terrible mistakes.

Forster is not a natural at playing from the back, but he has done what his manager has asked for in recent weeks. One bad pass is enough to cause danger, and that’s exactly what happened when he tried to find Radu Dragusin, who passed the ball a few meters in front of the defender.

Fernandes quickly came into play and set up Zirkzee for an easy finish…

Forster’s mistake a few minutes later was comical and is immediately added to highlight the infamous goalkeeping errors.

Archie Gray gave the ball back to Forster…

…and Amad pursued it.

Forster let the ball roll over his body onto his right foot…

…and then tried to start a release – but it hit Amad…

… and shot straight into the net.

Forster looked embarrassed and Postecoglou was angry. Television cameras captured Vicario’s stunned reaction on the bench.

Tottenham made it to the semi-finals and made life difficult for themselves. It turned the final 20 minutes of that game into a siege until Son scored from a corner and briefly restored the two-goal lead.

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Solanke continues his scoring streak against United

Solanke has now scored five goals in his last four games against Manchester United. They were split between two clubs under two head coaches and against two different managers.

No matter what system he’s in and who he’s 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 threat with the way he put United’s defenders under pressure and he did the same on Thursday night.

Solanke’s goal in this game was a cross from a corner and he again showed his natural goal instincts to put Spurs in the lead. James Maddison and Son played a quick free kick and the ball found its way to Pedro Porro. The full-back fired a shot from the edge of the box, which Altay Bayindir parried and Solanke hammered the rebound into the net.

If this 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, skipping effortlessly past Lisandro Martinez and firing low into the bottom corner. It was an exceptional goal from the striker, who has now scored nine goals in 21 appearances this season.

Solanke’s contributions were a major factor in Spurs securing their place in the semi-finals.

Jay Harris

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Did Amorim have his old player Porro in his sights?

Everyone knows that Tottenham’s full-backs like to push high up the pitch. Djed Spence, making only his second start since joining Spurs from Middlesbrough in July 2022, put in an excellent performance on the left. The 24-year-old created a threat forward with his dribbling and made some crucial tackles to steal the ball from Noussair Mazraoui.

On the other hand, it was a different story. Porro was involved in Solanke’s opening goal but it felt like Manchester United had him in their sights. Ruben Amorim was Porro’s former coach at Sporting CP and therefore knows exactly his strengths and weaknesses.

Throughout the first half, Porro repeatedly followed Diogo Dalot into United’s half, leaving a huge amount of space behind him. Fernandes kept firing into that area, prompting Pape Matar Sarr to chase after him. In the 23rd minute, Sarr was booked for a foul on Fernandes on the edge of the penalty area.

Later in the first half, Fernandes Sarr escaped but his cross was cleared by Dragusin. United’s best chances all came from the left wing, with Dalot parrying the ball for Christian Eriksen on several occasions.

Porro continued to push forward in the second half, but the rest of the Tottenham defense covered him and United were never able to make a breakthrough on that side.

Jay Harris

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Where did United’s second-half comeback come from?

When Solanke made it 3-0 against Spurs in the 54th minute, everything seemed to be done and dusted. United were ready to go home and lick their wounds and Amorim might have been inclined to take advantage of the extra training time freed up by being eliminated at that point.

However, the Portuguese coach has shown a knack for clever substitutions. Victoria Pilsen suffered from some second-half changes last Thursday and Amorim again made adjustments to bring some momentum back into the game in London.

Amad and Zirkzee came into the team for the good, but not entirely good, Rasmus Hojlund and what was perhaps Antony’s last starting appearance for a while. Kobbie Mainoo replaced Eriksen moments later and while the team’s form remained the same, United looked much more potent in front of goal.

The changes seemed designed to take advantage of Spurs’ tall defensive line. Postecoglou’s men were first alerted to Zirkzee’s presence in the 62nd minute when the Dutchman made a big header that had to be curled around the goal post by Forster.

But then there was a mini-collapse. United’s first goal gave the away team hope. The second reason was a miscommunication that spread from the back, but again it was Amad, one of the quickest thinkers in a United shirt, who was on the attack.

Not resting on their laurels with the score at 3-2, Amorim opted to bring on Alejandro Garnacho (who didn’t feature for the Manchester derby) for Manuel Ugarte. United wanted to give it their all and when Garnacho’s shot in the 82nd minute required an unorthodox save from Forster, it was thought they might get an equaliser.

Sons Olimpico, scoring directly from a corner, put an end to that in the 88th minute, but even with the game over, another Amorim substitute – Evans, who replaced Victor Lindelof before half-time – headed a corner to make it 4 – 3.

Somehow United suffered a strange 4-3 defeat after a seemingly easy 3-0 loss.

Every week, Amorim learns something new about his squad and who might be best suited to his methods in the long run. Every week United fans get a better idea of ​​how good their head coach is at making proactive substitutions.

Carl Anka

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A nervous performance from Bayindir

Bayindir didn’t have the most headline-grabbing career at Manchester United. The Turkish goalkeeper, who was signed last summer to replace Andre Onana, played just 90 minutes in the FA Cup fourth round tie against Newport County in the 2023/24 season.

Things have improved slightly this season, with the 26-year-old becoming the starting goalkeeper in the League Cup and putting in decent performances in the last two rounds against Barnsley and Leicester City.

Tottenham were the most difficult opponents they had ever faced in England and there were some signs of nervousness in the first half. While his short passing game was solid and assisted United in the early build-up of the game, Bayindir’s long passing game went a bit awry. Out of seven attempts, only two of his long goal kicks hit the target.

Spurs’ lead came as United were slow to react in the second and third phases of the set-piece defence. It also had its origins in Bayindir’s decision to parry Porro’s speculative attempt back into the six-yard box rather than sending it wide and behind his own goal. Solanke reacted well.

Spurs’ second and third goals had more to do with imbalances in defense in front of Bayindir than with the goalkeeper’s weaknesses in shot defense.

At his best, he can be an aggressive one-on-one shot-stopper, but there are only so many shots you can reasonably be expected to block before being overwhelmed. However, that doesn’t excuse his strange positioning and his decision to take the lead with his right hand while defending Son’s corner in the final minutes of the game. Bayindir’s protests that Lucas Bergvall had interfered with his attempt to block the cross fell on deaf ears and he was cautioned.

Fifty days had passed since Bayindir’s last appearance in a United jersey. 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 appearance between the sticks.

Carl Anka

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What did Ange Postecoglou say?

After the game, Postecoglou said of Forster’s mistake: “He’s disappointed because he was outstanding for us. In the first half I thought he was really good with his feet, he found some great solutions. The first probably affected his confidence a little and made him lose faith a little, and the second made things worse. But he’s a big boy and he’s another one who has done a great job for us during this time. I can’t praise this group of players enough.”

Commenting on Solanke’s impact, the Spurs boss said: “What he gives to the team beyond his goals is incredible.” His goals tonight were of high quality. The first reacted and the second calm and composed and a great finish. We’d like to give him a break, but he keeps going and that’s an honor for him and all the boys.

“We are in the semi-finals of a cup competition, which I think is a sign that we have made progress and we now have the chance to get to the final, home and away, and we deserve that chance.” That’s something to look forward to, but we have important games coming up this week, starting on Sunday.”

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What did Ruben Amorim say?

We will let you know after he speaks at the post-match press conference.

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What’s next for Tottenham?

Sunday, December 21st: Liverpool (H), Premier League, 4:30pm GMT, 11:30am ET

What’s next for Manchester United?

Sunday, December 21st: Bournemouth (H), Premier League, 2pm GMT, 9am ET

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(Top photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)