Tottenham were beaten 3-1 by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup third round.
Tottenham Hotspur crashed out of the Carabao Cup in the third round at the hands of Liverpool on Tuesday night, thus further piling the pressure on Roberto De Zerbi.
Spurs created enough chances in the final third, but once again were simply not clinical to demoralise the home side. In contrast, Liverpool were clinical in front of goal. Dominik Szoboszlai scored a worldie in stoppage time to seal the deal for the Reds and eliminate Roberto De Zerbi’s side from the Carabao Cup.
Roberto De Zerbi opens up on Martin Dubravka’s Tottenham debut
The Tottenham boss rang changes to his XI that started in the 0-0 draw with Everton last weekend. Tosin Adarabioyo, deadline day acquisition from Chelsea, made his full Tottenham debut, while Mohammed Kudus made his first start of the season.
Summer signing Martin Dubravka was handed his Spurs debut on the night. The veteran goalkeeper made his mark with a crucial early one-on-one save to deny Lewis Koumas. He later denied Szoboszlai, but was beaten all ends up by the Hungarian star’s long-range volley.
The Slovakian was at times guilty of delaying the pass and making risky decisions on the ball in the first half. This invited the Liverpool forwards to press aggressively, and on a couple of occasions, Spurs defenders ceded possession in dangerous areas. Marcos Senesi was robbed of possession but recovered well to clear the danger away for a corner.
When asked about Martin Dubravka’s debut, De Zerbi admitted that he needed to have informed the experienced goalkeeper to go long during that time since Liverpool were defending man-to-man.
“Good. He’s a good guy, good goalkeeper. I’m sorry, and it’s my responsibility. Because maybe in the middle of the first half we didn’t recognise the clear situation man-to-man. And we had to do totally different than play close, close, close and short,” De Zerbi said in his post-match press conference (h/t Football London).
“But it is a process. It was the first game for Dubravka. In the second half, he played very well.”
Overall, it was a positive maiden outing in a Spurs shirt for Dubravka. There’s no doubting the Slovakian international’s Premier League experience, having represented clubs such as Newcastle United, Manchester United and Burnley before arriving at Tottenham.
The 37-year-old has got the know-how to mentor young Antonin Kinsky, who is the club’s No.1 under De Zerbi. Kinsky is 23 and still learning his trade, so having a figure like Dubravka would be extremely beneficial for his development.
