Spurs 4-3 Man United, Carabao Cup | Ange’s verdict: “I couldn’t be prouder”

Ange Postecoglou described it as ‘another unbelievable effort’ as we booked our place in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup with a thrilling 4-3 win against Manchester United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday evening.

We were in complete control at 3-0 up on the hour mark before a United comeback and rollercoaster last half-hour, where the visitors took advantage of a couple of mistakes to make it 3-2. Heung-Min Son appeared to release that pressure by scoring directly from a corner two minutes from time for 4-2, but United weren’t done, as Jonny Evans headed home for 4-3 deep into added time.

We held on and will now face Liverpool over two legs in the semi-final.

Speaking on our Review Show, Ange told us: “I said to the boys that’s at least a year, 18 months off my life, but it was worth it. Look, a lot of people will be going into meltdown in terms of the way that game ended, but I can’t get away from the fact that it's another unbelievable effort from a really small, core group of players to go out there, play our football, be well in control of the game, score four goals... obviously, we made it harder for ourselves than we needed to, but I couldn’t be prouder of this group of players.”

The opening hour was so impressive as Dominic Solanke’s double (15, 54 minutes) and Dejan Kulusevski’s close-range strike from James Maddison’s cross (46) saw us in charge and 3-0 up.

Legendary former striker Clive Allen was part of our commentary team and asked Ange about that first hour...

Clive: “That opening hour must have been exactly what you wanted, the way Dominic led the line, the way we pressed, forced errors, were ruthless...”

Ange: “Yeah, that’s spot-on, Clive. It’s not easy against a side that’s set up pretty well defensively. They’re more solid defensively under Ruben, trying to be a little less expansive, so we knew we weren’t going to get a lot of chances and had to be clinical, and disciplined in our approach. I thought we did that really well. To be honest, they didn’t create too much, a couple of shots from distance, but we were managing the whole game really well. Obviously, we then made the first mistake, and I think that affected Fraser a little for the second, then the momentum shifts. In fairness, the boys were out on their feet. We’ve had a day less rest than Man U, we’re relying on the same group of players again, without the real ability to make subs, either, so we got a bit tired, but the character to see it out and win was really important.”

Here's what else Ange had to say…

What messages were you getting out there when it went to 3-2?

Ange: “Just to stay calm. There are moments that happen, not by design. We’ve had a couple of other games this year when we haven’t handled that really well, when those kind of things have happened. The boys are managing the situation really well at the moment. Like I said, it would be great in those moments if I could make some substitutions, change the momentum, but we’ve kids on the bench and I don’t want to put them out there in that scenario. We’re dealing with tough circumstances, but the mentality the players are showing has been outstanding.”

This is another example where, for this group, what an incredible experience...

Ange: “Yes, enormous, because everyone knew it was a big game for us tonight in the context of our season. We’ve been inconsistent in the league, and people see this as an opportunity for us. It was almost a free hit for Man U, the pressure was on us, because if we didn’t get through… and the players understood that. So, to show the mentality they did tonight, I can’t speak highly enough of them. Once we get through this (period), we’ll get to some calmer waters at some point when we’ve a fully fit, strong squad, these guys will have grown enormously through that and whatever we have to face moving forward, they won’t bat an eyelid.”

There were some lovely scenes at the end with players who are on their way back, you can see how much they desperately want to be involved and part of it...

Ange: “Absolutely. The whole group is committed. We’ve 10 first team players unavailable tonight for different reasons, but they are all invested in this, they all understand that the guys who are out there are putting in a massive shift for all of them, and they want to help that as much as they can. We will get those guys back in time and when they’re all back, as I said, we’ll look back at this period and will have seen enormous growth in this group.”