Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou said last year that he always wins something in his second season but Liverpool made that assertion sound hollow after a League Cup semi-final thrashing on Thursday.
Taking a 1-0 first-leg lead to Anfield, Spurs were crushed 4-0 to exit 4-1 on aggregate and without a single shot on target all night.
Tottenham still have the FA Cup and the Europa League to maintain the Australian’s record — one he highlighted after a painful home loss to Arsenal in September — but both will be a challenge for a side battling a lengthening injury list.
There will be little time to rest, however, with a trip to Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Sunday, for a club whose only silverware this century was the 2008 League Cup.
“We have given up a good opportunity tonight and we cannot shy away from that,” Postecoglou, who took over at Spurs in 2023, told BBC radio. “We were in a good position to get to the final.”
Liverpool, the holders and record 10-times winners now heading for their 15th League Cup final and third in four years, were relentless and simply too good.
