Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer
Image source, Getty ImagesTottenham survived a Manchester
United comeback and their own attempts at self-destruction to reach the Carabao
Cup semi-final.
Ange
Postecoglou’s side were cruising at 3-0 up with less than half an hour to go
until two calamitous errors from Spurs keeper Fraser Forster opened the door to
an unlikely United revival.
Dominic
Solanke pounced on United keeper Altay Bayindir’s error after 15 minutes as
Spurs edged a tight, entertaining first half – and the real drama unfolded
after the break.
Dejan
Kulusevski drove home an emphatic finish seconds after the restart and, when
Solanke struck his second after 54 minutes, United looked like they were being
brought down to earth with a crash after Sunday’s stunning derby win at
Manchester City.
Forster
made his first mistake after 63 minutes when an attempted pass from his
goalline, intended for Radu Dragusin, was intercepted by Bruno Fernandes, who
provided substitute Joshua Zirkzee with a simple finish.
The
keeper was the villain of the piece again seven minutes later when he hesitated
over another clearance before a poor first touch allowed Amad Diallo to charge
in and profit from his moment of indecision.
Spurs
eased the rising tension two minutes from time when Son Heung-min’s corner
drifted straight in, with more questions asked of Bayindir.
There
was still time for Jonny Evans to head home a United third, four minutes into
injury time with Forster again making an error, but Spurs managed to hold on
for victory.
