Tottenham 4-3 Man Utd: Winners & losers as Spurs book EFL Cup semi-final despite Forster disasterclass | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur booked their place in the EFL Cup semi-finals with a dramatic 4-3 win over Manchester United on Thursday.

A Dominic Solanke brace either side of a Dejan Kulusevski strike put Spurs in a commanding position before they did what Tottenham do best by trying to throw the game away.

Two mistakes in quick succession from Fraser Forster gifted goals to Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo before Son Heung-min fired a corner straight into the back of the net to seemingly finish the tie. However, even then, there was still time for Jonny Evans to head home from a corner, leaving Tottenham supporters sweating and fearing yet another ‘Spursy’ collapse.

Nevertheless, Ange Postecoglou’s men join Newcastle United, Liverpool and Arsenal in the semi-finals.

Here are some big winners and losers from Thursday’s clash in North London.

Winner: Dominic Solanke

Solanke had managed just one goal in his last seven Spurs appearances prior to this match, and even that came in the painful 4-3 defeat at home to Chelsea. The England international was in need of a real boost to get his form back on track.

He received that boost here with two goals to help seal Tottenham’s place in the final four. His first saw him react quickest as Altay Bayindir could only parry Pedro Porro’s long shot back into trouble, while his second was a smart finish after he completely rinsed Lisandro Martinez and Jonny Evans.

But Solanke’s contributions didn’t stop at just scoring goals. Aside from winning all three of his aerial duels and five of eight ground duels, the 27-year-old played a key role in Kulusevski’s goal, brilliantly holding up the ball against Man Utd pressure to bring his teammates into the game and kickstart the Spurs attack.

This was Solanke at his best.

Loser: Fraser Forster

While Solanke was sensational, Fraser Forster was downright dreadful and very nearly cost Tottenham this match.

The former England goalkeeper actually pulled out a couple of decent saves earlier on in the match, including a stretching leap to deny a Zirkzee header in the 63rd minute. However, just moments later, Forster pressed the self-destruct button as he misplaced a pass to Radu Dragusin inside his box and on his weaker foot. Bruno Fernandes was alive to pickpocket the unaware Dragusin, squaring the ball to Zirkzee for an easy finish.

Seven minutes later, things got even worse for Forster, who took an absolute age controlling a simple backward pass from Archie Gray. So long did he take, that he didn’t spot Amad Diallo racing down on him, sliding in to block Forster’s clearance and diverting the ball straight into the back of the net.

“It’s one of the most Tottenham things you’ll see,” said Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville.

From then on, Forster reverted to a much more direct approach with the ball — one he perhaps should have adopted from the start to save Spurs fans another agonising watch as their side struggled to avoid a characteristic collapse.

But Forster still had time to concede a third goal, with Jonny Evans’ near-post header going in at an angle where he couldn’t quite keep it out with head or hand.

Winner: Dejan Kulusevski

It’s been a tough season for Spurs supporters, with this EFL Cup run one of the few things keeping them sane.

Another source of relief has been the form of Dejan Kulusevski, who has been almost universally acknowledged as their best player this campaign. The Sweden international was at it again on Thursday, dispatching a beautiful first-time finish on his weaker foot to double Tottenham’s lead, with that his second goal against Man Utd this season.

Kulusevski was a terror all night, completing the most dribbles (4) and winning the most fouls (4) of any player on the pitch, while he had six touches in the opposition box.

At times, United just couldn’t live with him, just like many other Premier League defences this season.

Loser: Altay Bayindir

Forster wasn’t the only goalkeeper who had a shocker on Thursday.

Coming in ahead of Andre Onana as ‘cup goalkeeper’, Altay Bayindir enjoyed a much better night than Forster with the ball at his feet, spraying passes about like an accomplished midfield playmaker. But that’s where the positive contrasts ended.

Bayindir was at fault for two of Tottenham’s four goals. First, the Turkey international batted a long Pedro Porro shot straight into the path of Dominic Solanke, who fired the rebound home off the post to get things going. But then just as United had Spurs sweating with anxiety, he let them off the hook, allowing a Son Heung-min corner to go straight over him and into the back of the net.

He complained at length that Lucas Bergvall impeded him, but Bayindir was simply far too weak on that fourth goal, which just about sealed the deal for Spurs, consigning Evans’ late strike to ‘consolation’ status.

Winner: Son Heung-min

He certainly didn’t mean it, but Son Heung-min sealed this win for Tottenham with his direct corner goal, leaving yet another mark on the history of this football club.

The South Korean was actually somewhat off form by his own standards, looking a little sloppy with the ball at times and failing to seriously test United’s defence with his dribbling. However, he still came up with a big moment when his team needed it, by hook or by crook.

Son now goes one step closer to becoming the first Tottenham captain to lift a major trophy since Ledley King in 2008.

Loser: Lisandro Martinez

While Bayindir will shoulder a lot of the blame for United’s defeat on Thursday, Lisandro Martinez won’t exactly be happy with his performance either.

The Argentine defender diverted a terrible clearance straight into the path of Kulusevski right after half-time to help Spurs go 2-0, while just nine minutes later, he kept Solanke onside and then let the England striker completely roast him for Tottenham’s third.

Martinez actually did okay throughout the rest of the game, but that dreadful nine-minute spell ultimately proved incredibly costly for Man Utd.

Winner: Ange Postecoglou

There are many reasons to put Ange Postecoglou into the ‘loser’ category here. After all, his Spurs side once again chose to throw caution not just to the wind, but straight into the hurricane, despite taking a 3-0 lead in a cup quarter-final. The Lilywhites just kept committing bodies forward and kept trying to play out under pressure.

It cost them two goals and a lot of supporters’ fingernails but on another night, it could have cost them their place in the competition.

But it didn’t. Spurs are in the semi-finals and tantalisingly close to their first major trophy since 2008. If Postecoglou can deliver that, nobody can question him. Somehow, he keeps pulling out these big results.

Loser: Victor Lindelof

At the weekend, we saw Mason Mount limp out of the Manchester derby looking visibly upset at yet another setback. This time, it was the turn of Victor Lindelof.

The Swedish defender couldn’t quite last the first half before he trudged down the tunnel looking utterly exasperated, with this his first club start since playing the full 90 minutes against PAOK in the Europa League at the start of November.

Lindelof made a brief cameo right at the end of the Manchester derby but now faces another setback after various hamstring, groin and back injuries have plagued him in recent years.