LONDON – Ange Postecoglou needed this. Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Liverpool may not be enough to reach the Carabao Cup final with the semi-final second leg at Anfield looming, but it buys him valuable time to get Tottenham Hotspur’s season back on track.

The irony is that this crucial result comes in a competition that the 59-year-old coach has not particularly targeted, and by a performance that represents something of a departure from the high-risk style that has given the locals’ confidence in North London has put this area to the test.

This was not a complete departure from Postecoglou’s principles, but more of a compromise than we are used to.

Tottenham’s average start of possession was 31.6 meters from goal, the fifth lowest in all competitions this season. Her season average is 35.8 yards. And the hosts completed just 44 passes in the attacking third, compared to 83 against the same opponents last month and 77 in the previous round against Manchester United.

Perhaps Rodrigo Bentancur’s early head injury unsettled them, they were stretchered off and taken to hospital in what Postecoglou described afterwards as “a pretty worrying sight”. Spurs later confirmed he was conscious and speaking.

A weakened line-up due to injuries and the caliber of the opponents undoubtedly also contributed to this. The first half was, uncharacteristically for Spurs, pretty boring. Postecoglou’s behavior was also a notable departure from the norm; unusually expressive on the touchline, dropped to his knees when Pedro Porro failed to capitalize on a mistake by Alisson Becker at the start of the second half.

Dominic Solanke’s goal in the 77th minute was ruled out for offside due to the VAR review and there was the possibility of referee announcements being made in the stadium for the first time, confirming that, yes, the man who may have been offside was considered he ran through and scored, actually being offside as he ran through and scored, which resulted in violent head shaking.

Nine minutes later, Lucas Bergvall’s game-winning goal sparked jubilant celebrations that resumed after the final whistle as Postecoglou blew kisses to his loved ones and enjoyed the party atmosphere that led to a result that took Spurs one step closer to their first trophy since 2008.

Postecoglou is normally a stoic man, but the recent run of four wins from 15 games has put him under considerable pressure.

“It was an emotional time, mate,” he explained. “I keep saying: I am human. Like all of us, we are in the role of managers and I understand that we have positions of responsibility, but at the core we are still human beings and reacting to things.”

“I don’t like the fact that people who work really hard for this club, on and off the pitch, don’t have that feeling of winning. I don’t think it’s a good thing that our fans don’t have that feeling of victory.”

“It weighs heavily on me. It is my responsibility. So yeah, I’m a little more emotional than usual, but that probably means it’s important to me, and I think that’s still important.”

This was only Liverpool’s second defeat under Arne Slot and Spurs achieved it with another patchwork team with a debutant Antonin Kinsky in goal, a teenage right-back in central defense in Archie Gray and the out-of-favour Djed Spence respectively. The latter got along with Mohamed Salah much better than in the 3-6 defeat in the Premier League here 17 days earlier.

It felt like an element of pragmatism had crept into Tottenham’s approach, but Postecoglou suggested this was due to circumstance rather than design.

“People said my midfield formation was a bit more conservative today, but that’s because I only had three midfielders to choose from,” he said. “The others were not available. We definitely approached it the same way. Liverpool don’t allow you to approach it in the same way as other teams and our players play a game every three days without a break.”

“You have seen Liverpool at the end, they have recruited some significant talent, some really good footballers, but there is a good reason, not because they are not trying or have some other intention.”

Liverpool made substitutions before kick-off, but Slot introduced Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez to his five substitutes to secure a lead in the first leg. An Alexander-Arnold shot was cleared off the line and Núñez went close twice, but it was Spurs who struck late, benefiting from a dubious decision from Stuart Attwell that allowed Bergvall to get away with what seemed like a clear shot Second yellow card looked like a late tackle against Kostas Tsimikas.

To make matters worse, Tsimikas was waiting to get back onto the field when Solanke expertly turned and fed Bergvall, who beat Alisson with a lovely low shot.

“I don’t think there’s a debate about that,” Slot said of whether Bergvall should have been fired.

Given Liverpool’s recovery under the Dutchman, they have high hopes of overcoming the deficit on February 6th.

Both teams have seven games left by then. Liverpool must focus on the Premier League title fight, while Tottenham’s run includes the north London derby at Arsenal and difficult trips to Everton and Brentford, while a seemingly crucial transfer window remains open.

But a solid point of optimism is now emerging for Postecoglou: a second pillar in which they have an existing, albeit narrow, lead to shine as a beacon in a challenging month. It will take another mammoth effort to complete the task and reach Wembley but Postecoglou will feel reinvigorated for the fight.