Tottenham Hotspur made Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola cry without Son Heung-min (32).
Tottenham Hotspur defeated Manchester City 2-1 in the fourth round (the round of 16) of the 2024-2025 English Football League Cup at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on the 31st (Korea time).
By doing so, Tottenham has increased the possibility of getting out of the league. As the EFL Cup is the smallest competition in England, it is less interested in Tottenham than the Premier League, FA Cup, or UEFA Europa League. This is the most realistic competition for Tottenham.
The home team Tottenham opted for a 4-3-3 formation. Starting players were Timo Werner-Dominic Solanke-Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski-Rodrigo Bentancur-Pape Sarr, Mickey van der Ben-Radou Dragucin-Christian Romero-Archie Gray and Guglielmo Vicario.
Manchester City started with a 4-1-4-1 formation. Phil Foden, Matheus Nunes-Nico O’Reilly-James McAtee-Savinho, Ilkay Gündogan, Nathan Ake-Huven Díaz-John Stones-Rico Lewis, and Stefan Ortega were the first to play.
Captain Son Heung-min could not afford to play again this time. Son was hurt in the back of his thigh in the match against Karabakh last month. As he had a hamstring injury, he carefully managed the injury and focused on rehabilitation in London without joining the Korean national team. Tottenham had to play against Manchester United, Ferencvaros and Brighton without Son.
Son made a splendid comeback through the match against West Ham United last time. After inducing his opponent’s goalkeeper to score an own goal, he also scored his third goal in the league, signaling his return. However, he missed the match against Alkmark and Crystal Palace due to recurrence of pain, and was also excluded from the list of matches this time. Fortunately, according to manager Engie Postecoglou, he will be able to play at the match against Aston Villa on the weekend.
Tottenham quickly took the lead. In the 5th minute of the first half, Manchester City’s pressure was relieved from the back, and a quick attack was launched. Kulusevski caught the ball on the right side and made a sharp ground ball cross into the opposite space. Werner connected it with an accurate shot and scored the first goal. 토토사이트
The injury was bad news. In the 10th minute of the first half, when Tottenham was blocking Manchester City’s offensive, De Ben was competing with Saviou and fell down holding the back of his right thigh. Eventually, he left the stadium, and Destiny Udogi was rushed in.
Tottenham ended the match by two goals. After a short corner kick in the 25th minute of the first half, Kulusevskiy back-passed instead of a cross. Sar, who received the shot, cut the net with a brilliant mid-range shot to make it 2-0.
Manchester City, which needed a goal, put more weight on offense. Even fullback Lewis was involved in the build-up from the center, increasing the number of attacks. However, Gündogan’s shot in the 32nd minute of the first half and Foden’s shot in the 43rd minute of the first half were off the goal. Gündogan’s shot in the extra time of the first half was also blocked by the defense wall.
Manchester City finally paid off. Just before the end of the first half, Sabiu caught the ball from the right and crossed to the other side. Nunes, who was rushing, shot without interference from Tottenham’s defense, finally scored a comeback goal by breaking through Vicario. The first half ended with Tottenham leading 2-1.
Both teams used replacement cards at the beginning of the second half. Tottenham put Yves Bissouma without Sarr. Manchester City tried to come from behind by bringing in Gündoan and Díaz, and putting in Mateo Kovacic and Yoschko Gvardiol.
Tottenham swallowed the disappointment. In the third minute of the second half, Johnson tried to shoot low in the box, but was blocked by the goalkeeper. Solanke’s shot, which came out shortly after, was declared offside. In the sixth minute of the second half, Werner ran through the back of the defense from near the center line and had a great chance, but the last shot was inaccurate.
Manchester City led the game with possession, but Tottenham also responded with a threatening counterattack. There were a series of injuries. In the 14th minute of the second half, Sabiu collapsed complaining of pain in his ankle and was replaced by Jakob Wright. Tottenham was also replaced by Hishalisson in the 23rd minute of the second half when Werner grabbed his groin.
Manchester City attacked for an equalizer at the end of the game, but failed to penetrate Tottenham’s defense. In the 38th minute of the second half, Hishalisson had a one-on-one opportunity due to Manchester City’s pass miss, but the shot went straight to the goalkeeper.
Tottenham succeeded in holding out until the end. In the 43rd minute of the second half, O’Reilly shot into an empty goal from a corner kick attack, but Bissouma fired himself in front of the goal line and blocked it. Wright’s mid-range shot near the arc in extra time went to the left of the net. In the end, the game ended with Tottenham’s 2-1 victory.
Meanwhile, Tottenham reached the quarterfinals with Manchester United as its next opponent. Manchester United defeated Leicester City 5-2 in the round of 16. Currently, Manchester United has dismissed Erik ten Hag and is seeking to appoint Sporting director Huven Amorim.
