Tottenham Hotspur – Liverpool: Spurs Keep Cup Dream Alive By Edging First Leg Against The Reds (1-0)

Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs side kept their cup dream alive after they edged the first leg semi-final of the Carabao Cup against Arne Slot’s Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It was a game marred by injuries, with Rodrigo Bentancur suffering a serious head injury in the first half leading to a lengthy stoppage. However, Lucas Bergvall’s goal late on in the second half was enough to seal a win for Spurs on the night.

Tactical analysis and match report by Gaurav Krishnan. 

Football is perhaps an archetypal example of how tides can turn quickly, whether that's in-game or with respect to a team's form. On this particular night Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs beat the most in-form & consistent team in England in Liverpool, edging the game by a narrow 1-0 victory. This came a few weeks after the Reds battered Spurs 6-3 in the Premier League, again on Spurs’ home turf. However, this time there would be no such romp to a win for the Reds as Postecoglou got his tactics & gameplan on point, learning from the 6-3 defeat to inflict a first-leg semi-final loss in the Carabao Cup to Arne Slot’s Liverpool juggernaut that’s been steamrolling to victories all season.

It’s been a season of mixed results for Postecoglou’s Spurs side thus far. They currently are hovering in mid-table in the Premier League in 12th place. But perhaps this season’s Carabao Cup is a trophy Postecoglou could be chasing to win the club & its fan base that elusive first trophy since . . .