Tottenham survived a Manchester United comeback and their own attempts at self-destruction to reach the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were cruising at 3-0 up with less than half an hour to go until two calamitous errors from Spurs keeper Fraser Forster opened the door to an unlikely United revival.
Dominic Solanke pounced on United keeper Altay Bayindir’s error after 15 minutes as Spurs edged a tight, entertaining first half – and the real drama unfolded after the break.
Dejan Kulusevski drove home an emphatic finish seconds after the restart and, when Solanke struck his second after 54 minutes, United looked like they were being brought down to earth with a crash after Sunday’s stunning derby win at Manchester City.
Forster made his first mistake after 63 minutes when an attempted pass from his goalline, intended for Radu Dragusin, was intercepted by Bruno Fernandes, who provided substitute Joshua Zirkzee with a simple finish.
The keeper was the villain of the piece again seven minutes later when he hesitated over another clearance before a poor first touch allowed Amad Diallo to charge in and profit from his moment of indecision.
Spurs eased the rising tension two minutes from time when Son Heung-min’s corner drifted straight in, with more questions asked of Bayindir.
There was still time for Jonny Evans to head home a United third, four minutes into injury time with Forster again making an error, but Spurs managed to hold on for victory.
Spurs live on their nerves again
Spurs were braced for the traditional insults to be aimed in their direction when they looked in serious danger of casting aside a position of complete superiority in embarrassing fashion.
And it would have been all their own work.
The sense of panic among Spurs supporters – and indeed their players – inside the stadium was palpable as keeper Forster, in for the injured Guglielmo Vicario, did not just throw United a lifeline but threatened to drag them to the most remarkable salvation.
Spurs were surrounded by a sense of serenity after 54 minutes, three goals ahead and in complete control, United looking like their fate would simply be one of damage limitation.
Instead, Spurs ended up in danger of engineering a painful downfall until they managed to gather themselves and get over the line, and into the semi-finals, amid scenes of celebration and relief.
Even after Son’s fourth goal looked to have finally halted United’s comeback, Tottenham still managed to concede a third goal to set up tense final seconds.
It was magnificently entertaining in an edge-of-the-seat, error-riddled way but that seems to be the fashion under Postecoglou and does not look likely to change any time soon.
Once the chewed fingernails are cleared away and nerves calm down, Spurs are still in with a shout of winning their first trophy since the 2008 victory in this competition.
