In a thrilling encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur secured a 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the fourth round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday night. The win propels Spurs into the quarter-finals, where they will face Manchester United.
Tottenham’s head coach, Ange Postecoglou, was visibly delighted with his team’s performance. “Yeah, it was an important win. Obviously, in the cup competitions, you have to win to continue in it, so that’s the first thing. Look, you’re playing against an unbelievable side and they’re going to ask you all sorts of questions and they did today. I thought we defended well as we didn’t give away many clear-cut opportunities but we did have to defend and I thought we did that well.”
The match saw Timo Werner open the scoring early with a crisp finish from Dejan Kulusevski’s cross. Pape Matar Sarr doubled the lead with a brilliant long-range strike, making it 2-0. Matheus Nunes pulled one back for City just before half-time, but Spurs held on to secure the win.
Postecoglou praised his team’s resilience and highlighted the quality of the goals. “Pape has done well for us in terms of goal output when he has played. It was well worked as an attacking set-piece but it was a hell of a strike. Against City, you need quality in those moments to score against them and both goals were outstanding moments for us.”
The victory is particularly significant for Tottenham, who have been striving to end their 14-year silverware drought. Postecoglou’s decision to rotate the squad and make tactical changes at half-time played a crucial role in the win. “Great move for the first one and great for Timo to finish as he has been going through a tough time. With the attacking players, it kinds of weighs on them when they don’t score or don’t sort of finish stuff off. For him to score tonight and in an important moment of the game was great and hopefully that sorts of helps him kick on.”
The win also comes at a cost, with Micky van de Ven suffering an injury. Postecoglou remains optimistic about his team’s progress and their chances in the competition. “We’re a side that’s growing, developing, and hopefully we’ve got more good days ahead of us.”
Tottenham’s next challenge will be a home game against Manchester United in the quarter-finals, and Postecoglou is confident that his team can continue to perform at a high level.
This victory is a testament to Postecoglou’s leadership and the team’s determination to succeed in cup competitions. It’s a step in the right direction for Spurs as they aim to bring silverware back to the club.
Manchester City performance and stats
In the last 2 games, it has won once and lost once. In its last match, Manchester City lost 2-1 against Tottenham Hotspur.