Does anybody rate the Carabao Cup anymore? Last night, Manchester City laughed as they bowed out of the tournament.
Pep Guardiola looked over at his bench in stoppage time, down 2-1, and nearly smirked in amusement. Haaland and Akanji laughed it off. Now, they’ll all have fresher legs en route to the next Treble.
But for Spurs fans, coach Ange Postecoglou is living up to his promise as a second-season trophy winner. He did it with domestic titles at Celtic and Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos, all the way back to the Australian title at South Melbourne and Brisbane.
“Usually in my second season I win things,” said 59-year-old Postecoglou. Well, he’s not wrong.
Tottenham knocked out arguably the world’s best club team to make way to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
For the record, Spurs also thrashed Manchester United at Old Trafford. It was one of the last handful of games that sent Erik ten Hag packing. Also, Spurs lost to Crystal Palace this season and blew a second-half lead to Brighton.
Yes, Guardiola might have played his second team last night. That pretty much said it all. The Spaniard has already won the EFL trophy four times. Yet, the loss is City’s first this 2024/25 season. They also picked up two more injuries.
Meanwhile, Spurs are eyeing any ounce of silverware. The Carabao Cup must therefore have some importance, even at Guardiola’s indifference.
