Tottenham Hotspur survived a furious Manchester United comeback to reach the League Cup semi-finals with a 4-3 home victory in a gripping tie littered with bizarre errors on Thursday.

Ange Postecoglou’s side were cruising against a lacklustre United with Dominic Solanke’s double and a goal for Dejan Kulusevski putting them 3-0 up after 54 minutes.

But the home crowd were left chewing their fingernails as two terrible mistakes by their keeper Fraser Forster allowed substitutes Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo to give United hope.

There were still 20 minutes left when Diallo made it 3-2 and United were close to equalising on several occasions before Son Heung-min appeared to have sealed it in odd fashion, deceiving United keeper Altay Bayindir directly from a corner.

There was still time for Jonny Evans to head a third for United in stoppage time but a relieved Tottenham hung on.

Tottenham are seeking a first trophy since 2008 when they won the League Cup for the fourth time.

Postecoglou’s side let a 2-0 lead slip to lose 4-3 at home to Chelsea in their last home game and for a while it looked as though their innate ability to shoot themselves in the foot was coming back to bite them.

This time, however, the fans went home happy and Postecoglou moves a step closer to making good on his reputation for securing silverware in his second season at clubs.

Tottenham are at full stretch because of injuries but still dominated Ruben Amorim’s side which showed five changes to the starting lineup that stunned Manchester City on Sunday.

Solanke put the hosts in front in the 15th minute when Bayindir fumbled a well-hit shot by Pedro and the striker fired in the rebound off the post.

Bruno Fernandes had a couple of efforts and Rasmus Hojlund volleyed wide but Tottenham were comfortable and in cruise control straight after the interval when Lisandro Martinez could only turn a James Maddison cut-back into the path of Kulusevski who made no mistake.

Solanke was then allowed to dribble across the area before sliding a shot inside the post in the 54th minute and the tie looked over as a contest.

But Forster then played a casual pass out of his area and Fernandes intercepted and the ball reached Zirkzee to tap in.

Forster then compounded that error by taking an age to make a routine clearance and Diallo slid in to charge down his kick and divert the ball into the net.

Tottenham looked a bundle of nerves as United swept forward but captain Son restored calm with an inswinging corner that went over the head of Bayindir to ripple the net.

Substitute Evans’ riposte came too late to save United who will regret the way they started the tie.

-Reuters

Ethan Chidiebere Nwaneri, Nigerian parentage, scored a brace for Arsenal in their Carabao Cup third round 5-1 defeat of Bolton Wanderers at the Emirate Stadium on Wednesday.

Those were the first goals of the 17-year old for the club. 

He made his English Premier League debut against Brentford  in September 2022, becoming the youngest ever Arsenal player, and the youngest player to appear in the top flight of English football aged just 15.

In Tuesday’s League Cup match, Declan Rice opened scoring for Arsenal with a goal from 18 yards out in the 16th minute before Nwaneri made his presence felt in the 37th, latching onto a cross from Sterling to finish into an empty net from close range.

Nwaneri netted his second of the night soon after the break when West Ham were caught trying to play out from the back and Rice found the teenager who finished from just inside the penalty area.

Sterling, on loan from Chelsea, and Havertz put the game out of reach with goals in the 64th and 77th minutes.

Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo scored two goals apiece as holders Liverpool thrashed West Ham United 5-1 at Anfield on Wednesday to cruise into the fourth round of the League Cup in another solid performance from Arne Slot’s side.

Mohamed Salah was also on target for Liverpool who fell behind and endured some nervy moments before pulling away for a comfortable victory.

“I do feel like in most parts of the game we had control,” Slot said. “We had a large part of ball possession, particularly in the first half.”

Arsenal crushed third-tier Bolton Wanderers 5-1 in the evening’s other League Cup tie.

West Ham — who were reduced to 10 men when Edson Alvarez was shown a second yellow card in the 76th minute — opened the scoring at Anfield when Wataru Endo’s attempt to clear a corner ricocheted off Jarell Quansah and past keeper Caoimhin Kelleher for an own goal.

The Hammers’ celebrations were short-lived as Jota equalised four minutes later, leaping to head home Federico Chiesa’s acrobatic volley.

Jota netted his second in the 49th minute when Curtis Jones slotted a reverse pass to the Portuguese player who scored into the bottom corner.

“It’s important when you’re down to get that (equaliser) as quick as possible and to score at Anfield, it’s always special so happy to help the team,” Jota told Sky Sports.

Talisman Salah made it 3-1 in the 74th when he knocked in the rebound off Alexis Mac Allister’s shot, and then Alvarez was sent off two minutes later following a late challenge.

Gakpo added to Liverpool’s lead with goals in the 90th and 93rd minutes, his first a fantastic strike from 17 yards out after a one-two with Darwin Nunez.

“The last 20 minutes we didn’t manage well,” said West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui. “The players made a big effort. I’m sorry for our fans.”

The Reds captured a record 10th League Cup title last season, manager Juergen Klopp’s final trophy with the team before he stepped down at the end of the campaign.

New manager Slot has barely missed a beat. The Reds sit a point behind Manchester City in second in the Premier League after five games. They also opened their Champions League campaign with a victory over AC Milan last week.

“We have just one defeat,” Jota said. “We are still progressing, still developing our ideas — but only by winning games you become better so we are happy.

“It’s hard but we want to win again obviously, we are the reigning champions.”