Tottenham beat Manchester United 4-3 to set up a Carabao Cup semi-final with Liverpool on a night of horrific goalkeeping and defensive blunders.
These two sides have had frustratingly inconsistent seasons and their backlines showed exactly why with error-strewn performances in north London that saw both sets of fans despairing and howling during a roller-coaster contest.
Fraser Forster twice fumbled with the ball at his feet for United goals, allowing Ruben Amorim's side to come back from 3-0 down to make it 3-2. But as the visitors piled forward and threatened to equalize as the tension at Tottenham grew, Altay Bayindir allowed Heung-Min Son's corner to go over his head.
Add that to his poor save on Dominic Solanke to open the scoring on the night and it's hard to say which back-up stopper performed worse – but they weren't alone.
Sky Sports' Gary Neville blasted Lisandro Martinez for his “weak” tackle on Dejan Kulusevski for Spurs' second goal, which came just 46 seconds into the second half. The home side went through the United defense again soon after, with Solanke teeing up Martinez before firing through the legs of Jonny Evans to seemingly put Spurs in control.
However, it's rarely that simple for Spurs, and Forster's poor pass in his own box was pounced on by Bruno Fernandes for Joshua Zirkzee to tap in before the keeper was chased down by Amad Diallo in the second. Even deep into stoppage time, Spurs found the capacity to concede from a set-piece and Evans nodded to ensure the final seconds were as chaotic as before.
There were loud cheers from the home fans when that final whistle blew. Their hopes of ending their trophy drought have been boosted – although their final-four clash with Liverpool, against whom they were drawn after the game, is so wild it's impossible to say whether they'll make it to Wembley or not.
Meanwhile, Manchester's momentum after the Manchester derby victory has stalled. From the off-field issues surrounding Marcus Rashford's future to those on the pitch, Amorim has a big task ahead of him – although both he and Ange Postecoglou will be hoping their sides can find more consistent and controlled success in the future with a long list of returning absentees.
Postecoglou: Aren't you having fun?!
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Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou asks aren't you having fun!?
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou he Sky Sports:
“We did everything harder than we should have, we controlled well, we played very well, we looked like we were going to take the game, and then there were two unfortunate moments, the first affecting Fraser and then the second as a player. But we showed character and scored fourth.
“I like the whole game. Aren't you having fun? I know the studio probably broke because of my lack of tactics.
“We have so many absences at the moment, centre-halves, kids on the bench. If we get through this period, we will get a huge growth.”
Amorim: We switched off for eight minutes and it cost us
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Ruben Amorim thought his team was the better team
Man Utd boss Reuben Amorim:
“We controlled possession. We weren't the best team the whole game, but for the most part I think we were the best team. We got shut down for eight minutes and it was hard to recover from that, but the guys did a great job recovering. We were so close to equalizing but the fourth goal was really difficult for us.
“We got disconnected for eight minutes and it cost us the game.”
On whether the decision to leave Rashford out again was a mistake: “If I feel I'm doing the right thing for the team, it's never been a mistake. We have to make a selection. It wasn't a mistake because I feel I'm doing the best for the team in my own way of seeing things. “
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Injured Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario fumes in the stands over teammate Fraser Forster's mistakes against Man Utd in the League Cup quarter-final.
'If it wasn't serious it would be hilarious!' How the experts reacted to Sky…
Jamie Redknapp:
“If it wasn't so serious it would be hilarious! But it was a masterclass in how not to watch a Tottenham game. It was crazy to see, but a big result for Spurs to get them into the semi-finals – but how often do we see that from them?
“I don't know how the coach does it sometimes, he has to pull his hair out, but some things are his fault, like giving the ball back to the goalkeeper – Forster is the worst player on the pitch with the ball, so stop giving it to him.
“Outright madness at times, but the chaos was so enjoyable.”
Gary Neville:
“Spurs almost deserved to win at the end but what a strange game of football, lots of mistakes, goalkeepers everywhere and Spurs go through at the end.
“You felt coming into tonight that it was a big night for Postecoglou and Spurs and maybe that just overdid them in the end.”
Jamie Carragher:
“Because of how the Spurs have been at times this season, blowing leads, you felt the momentum change in the stadium.
“Everybody felt the same when Man Utd scored their first goal, it was when United were going to get their second.
“What I will say is that Spurs are the most entertaining team in this league and every time I go for them it's a great game and they had another absolute winner here.”