Tottenham’s history in cup semi-finals: Do they stand a chance vs Liverpool?
The first leg of Tottenham’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool is fast approaching, but do Tottenham have a positive history in cup semi-finals?
Tottenham’s last ten semi-finals
Tottenham are historically a cup team. Of the 26 trophies Tottenham Hotspur have won, 23 are from cup or Supercup tournaments.
That being said, Spurs’ recent history details a failure to get across the line in their domestic and European cup endeavours.
You have to go back to 2009 in order to accumulate ten semi-final results for Tottenham. Of these 10, Spurs have won only four. League Cup semis vs Burnley, Sheffield United and Brentford, in addition to the memorable win against Ajax in the Champions League.
Two of the six losses came against Portsmouth and Manchester United in the FA Cup, while the remaining four were all against Chelsea (two each in the League Cup and FA Cup).
Overcoming ‘stronger’ opponents is a matter of resources
The term ‘Spursy’ at its core, is born from Tottenham’s seeming inability to get beyond opponents in knockout games and seize opportunity.
However, losses in finals to the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool, all ignore the quality and depth of the opponents’ squads.
The last time Tottenham made it to the League Cup semi-finals, they played Chelsea and lost 2-0 and 1-0 across the two legs. In these fixtures, Chelsea were able to call upon the likes of N’Golo Kante, Hakim Ziyech and Mateo Kovacic from their bench. Whereas comparatively, Spurs frequently have youth players as their primary rotation options.
Once again, in the upcoming match, Liverpool has the option of bringing on a variety of senior internationals from their bench. Tottenham are still struggling with an injury-stricken team and will have to find unprecedented solutions against the side currently top of the Premier League table.
Tottenham have a dilemma for their semi-final approach
Ange Postecoglou will never abandon his footballing philosophy, however, it is imperative that Tottenham are still in the tie for the second leg at Anfield.
Spurs are still dealing with numerous injuries and after conceding six goals at home to Liverpool only a few games ago, a conservative approach may help Spurs stay in the tie. By February, Tottenham should have the likes of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero back and could be in a better position to compete.
However, betting on getting a result at Anfield is a risky approach to a fixture that could define Tottenham’s season. Going for a win against Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium may be the only way Spurs can proceed to the final, but they will need the performance of a lifetime to get through.
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