Jamie Carragher has delivered a brutal verdict on Tottenham Hotspur after their no-show in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal, insisting that the result was never in doubt coming into today’s game due to the recent history associated with Spurs.
Tottenham fail spectacularly in their biggest game of the season
With Spurs struggling so badly in the Premier League, progression to the Carabao Cup final would have come as a much-needed boost to the club, which is why this game was earmarked by everyone associated with Tottenham as season-defining from a long way out.
However, the Lilywhites went to Anfield with an extremely understrength side and were taught a harsh lesson by Liverpool, who put four past them without response.
At no point did Ange Postecoglou‘s men look like they were in the game, and they failed to even lay a glove on the home side.
Jamie Carragher delivers brutal verdict on Tottenham
Carragher has now pointed out that the result was a foregone conclusion even before the game started, given the history Tottenham have of failing to turn up in big games.
Speaking after Liverpool’s 4-0 win, the pundit told Sky Sports: “It was never in doubt before the game. It’s Tottenham. When did Tottenham ever win a big game? When did Tottenham ever go anywhere and surprise you and win against the odds?
“The odds were massively in favour of Liverpool. They are at home at Anfield, they are the best team in the country and possibly in Europe right now.
“It is not just this Spurs team. They never shock you and do something out of the ordinary. I am trying to think of the last big game they won and I would probably have to go back to that Ajax game in the Champions League semi-final and they were very lucky. They got battered in most of the game.”
Carragher’s point is extremely reductive
It is not entirely fair on the current Tottenham squad to hold what has happened over the last four or five years against them. This is essentially a new group with a new manager, and they are not scarred by the club’s previous tendencies to fail at the final hurdles.
The side was also missing several of their leaders, including Romero, Vicario and Maddison, and Spurs needed the likes of Bissouma, Son and Bentancur to step up, which they failed to do at Anfield.
The comments about the Ajax comeback – one of the most famous nights in recent Spurs history – being nothing more than luck also feels reductive and patronising. It simply is not true. Tottenham fought back heroically in that second half and it remains one of the moments in Champions League history.