Tottenham have been eliminated from the Carabao Cup by Liverpool.
Tottenham Hotspur were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Liverpool at Anfield. The hosts survived a late onslaught to beat Spurs 3-1 in the third round and pile more misery on Roberto De Zerbi.
Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo had Liverpool in complete control, before Conor Gallagher had Spurs back in the game in the latter stages with a free header. But with seconds left, substitute Dominik Szoboszlai scored a long-range belter past the hapless Martin Dubravka to seal the deal for the Reds.
Tottenham had enjoyed the better of chances tonight; Lucas Bergvall should have scored in the first half. The central midfielder’s left-footed effort was brilliantly kept out by Giorgi Mamardashvili. The visitors were made to pay the price for missed chances in the second half.
Michael Brown gives verdict on Tottenham’s cup defeat to Liverpool
Tottenham are now out of the Carabao Cup. It is yet another early cup exit for the North London club, who now have only two competitions to focus on for the rest of the season. Roberto De Zerbi’s men have just one victory to their name this season, which came against Championship side Charlton Athletic in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
Former Spurs midfielder Michael Brown thinks De Zerbi’s side have a lot of improvement to do but can certainly take some positives from the cup defeat at Liverpool.
“I think if we’re being charitable, they scored a goal from a set-piece,” Michael Brown said on BBC Radio 5 Live (h/t BBC Sport).
“But overall, the bulk of the game they were a bit too nice and a bit naive.
“There’s some positives but still big improvements needed from this Spurs side.”
This is Spurs’ third defeat in six games this campaign, but in the first half particularly, there were reasons for optimism. Lucas Bergvall and Mohammed Kudus both failed to convert excellent chances. Mamardashvili also made a couple of stunning saves, most notably Omar Marmoush’s close-range deflected shot.
Overall, the likes of Kudus, Bergvall and Udogie looked good, while James Maddison and Savio were sharp after coming off the bench. Also, scoring a goal, their first against Premier League opposition all season, is another huge positive that De Zerbi has to build on.
