Manchester United exited the Carabao Cup after a chaotic quarter-final clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Dominic Solanke’s double, either side of a Dejan Kulusevski goal, had seemingly given Ange Postecoglou’s side an unassailable 3-0 lead, with an hour gone.
But substitutes Joshua Zirkzee and Amad capitalised on two Fraser Forster mistakes to set up a grandstand finale, in what was now a nervy north London.
United came within a whisker of scoring an equaliser before Son Heung-min netted a fourth for Spurs, straight from a corner, with two minutes to go.
That was ultimately the goal that settled the tie, although Jonny Evans’s stoppage-time header ensured we pushed the home side right until the end.
FIRST HALF – SOLANKE STRIKES FOR SPURS
Ruben Amorim hasn’t been shy about rotating his line-ups as United head coach, and he made five changes to his side for the last-eight tie, with a quartet of Reds in particular given a rare chance to shine from the off.
Altay Bayindir has been our go-to goalkeeper in the Carabao Cup, but this was only his fourth United appearance, while Antony was included from the start for only the third time this season. Victor Lindelof and Leny Yoro meanwhile, had 294 and 108 minutes of experience under their belts respectively prior to kick-off, having spent much of the campaign on the sidelines.
Our hosts’ side was also unfamiliar, most obviously in defence, with youngster Archie Gray partnering Radu Dragusin at centre-back, in the absence of regulars Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven – key protagonists in Spurs’ 3-0 victory at Old Trafford back in September.
Two starters from Sunday’s magnificent late win at Manchester City combined to create United’s first sniff at an opening, but Rasmus Hojlund couldn’t get the ball under control from Bruno Fernandes’s measured through ball and Dragusin dealt with the danger.
Son shaped to shoot at the other end and missed the target but, 60 seconds later, there was no mistake from Solanke who was inch-perfect, firing in off the post after Bayindir had only palmed Pedro Porro’s long-range effort half-clear.
Despite that early setback, there was plenty to encourage the Reds, particularly given Spurs’ penchant for letting leads slip this season. Christian Eriksen – formerly of this north London parish – forced Yves Bissouma into a well-timed block from a Diogo Dalot pullback, then hit the top of the net with a wide free-kick that briefly looked to have been looping goalwards.
While we were enjoying the bulk of the possession, the hosts had the better quality of opportunities, as Bayindir was called into action, stopping Kulusevski’s strike after a neat turn on Fernandes, while the impressive Manuel Ugarte had to be on his toes to turn a teasing cross from the Swede behind, with Solanke lurking.
Fernandes and Hojlund were just off the mark in trying to test Forster, and Eriksen saw another effort from distance thwarted, as the Lilywhites went into the break a goal to the good but with United pushing forward for an equaliser.
SECOND HALF – GOALS GALORE
Unfortunately our task was immediately made more difficult, when Kulusevski struck less than a minute into the half, the winger lifting the ball into the net after Lisandro Martinez had diverted James Maddison’s centre into his path.
That lifted the atmosphere to another level and, with United looking to respond and shift the impetus by making a triple substitution, Solanke fired in a third.
The former Bournemouth forward beat the offside trap and held off Martinez before firing low past Bayindir, leaving the Reds needing a miracle.
Amad, Kobbie Mainoo and Zirkzee were the men called upon by Amorim to provide it, and the latter’s header forced a first save of the game from Forster, before the former England international gifted us an early Christmas present. The stopper’s pass was well short of intended target Porro, and Fernandes nicked in before squaring for Zirkzee to convert.
You could sense a hint of panic in the home support and that was only heightened when more manic pressing – this time from Amad – caused another Forster blip.
There seemed to be no danger on when Gray played a backpass to his goalie, but the Ivorian sensed an opportunity and his block on the attempted clearance ended up nestling in the net.
It was all United now, cheered on by a frenzied away following behind Forster’s goal, and Noussair Mazraoui was inches away from completing the turnaround, curling wide when played through – onside – by Fernandes, while Forster employed an unorthodox kick to deal with Amad’s speculative 25-yard shot.
But, as the clock ticked towards injury-time, Son’s corner avoided everyone – including Bayindir and the jumping Lucas Bergvall – and was greeted by relieved celebrations from the Tottenham faithful.
In a crazy cup tie, there was still time for Evans to nod home his first Reds goal since 2014, but an eighth goal of the night – and one which would have meant penalties – was simply beyond the reach of Amorim’s men and it is Spurs who join Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle in the semi-final hat.
MATCH DETAILS
United: Bayindir; Yoro, Lindelof (Evans 45), Martinez; Mazraoui, Eriksen (Mainoo 56), Ugarte (Garnacho 72), Dalot; Antony (Amad 56), Fernandes; Hojlund (Zirkzee 56).
Subs not used: Onana, Maguire, Malacia, Casemiro.
Booked: Mazraoui, Bayindir, Fernandes.
Goals: Zirkzee 63, Amad 70, Evans 90.
Tottenham: Forster; Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence (Reguilon 90); Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison (Bergvall 79), Son; Solanke (Johnson 90).
Subs not used: Austin, Whiteman, Lankshear, Dorrington, Olusesi, Hardy.
Booked: Sarr, Maddison.
Goals: Solanke 15, 54, Kulusevski 47, Son 88.