This is what madness is made of! Tottenham Hotspur are off to the EFL Cup semi-final after beating Manchester United 4-3 in the most strange game of the entire 2024 across Europe!A seven-goal-thriller provided us with so much craziness that it’s almost impossible to do a report that would include all of those interesting moments we saw.For almost an hour, it seemed like Ange Postecoglou’s side was about to destroy the Red Devils the same way they previously did this season in the Premier League (3-0 win at Old Trafford). Dominic Solanke’s brace pushed the hosts on the verge of a big win before their own keeper, Fraser Forster, committed a crime against a decent goalkeeping. Not once, but twice! Ruben Amorim’s lot was suddenly back on the wheel, but they lost it when their reserve custodian conceded straight from the corner.Tottenham have four wins from four games against teams from Manchester this season.#TOTMUN | #THFC pic.twitter.com/dGZyz8qRCc— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) December 19, 2024 Huh, let’s click the rewind button now and see what actually happened there…Spurs took the lead around the 15th-minute mark, as Pedro Porro’s long-distance shot was poorly denied by United’s second-choice keeper Altay Bayindir and Dominic Solanke tucked it in the rebound.Interestingly, Solanke has scored in each of his last four meetings with Manchester United – two for Bournemouth last season and two for Spurs this term.🚨🏴 GOAL | Tottenham 3-0 Manchester United | SolankeSOLANKE MAKES IT THREE FOR TOTTENHAM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!pic.twitter.com/Fa8EmzFGDX— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) December 19, 2024 That early opener provoked some sort of reaction from Manchester United, as they kept searching for the equalizer with a very simple pattern – sharp low cross from flanks into the heart of the box.Christian Eriksen and Antony were close to scoring after such actions, but Yves Bissouma once and Archie Gray twice stood in just the right place to block those shots and prevent their side from conceding. On the other end, Dejan Kulusevski was so close to doubling the lead, but this time, Bayindir reacted superbly to save his side after Kulusevski’s close-range effort.Teams went to dressing rooms with 1-0 on the scoreboard, but the result changed almost straight after the restart.And it was Kulusevski there to make amends.James Maddison cut the ball back from the byeline and Lisandro Martinez poked it out to Kulusevski, who headed it home from eight yards out.That second seemed to have affected both teams massively, with the hosts dancing their way to Bayindir’s box again almost instantly. Solanke ran onto a long ball, drifted inside a bit and then fired it superbly to knock the visitors down, 3-0.Amorim was on his knees (literally), just like his squad (in a manner of speaking), and that tie was wrapped up with 45 minutes left. And then came Forster’s madness.GOL DO MANCHESTER UNITED!Tottenham 3×1 Manchester United!Após fazer uma linda defesa, o goleiro Forster entrega e dá a bola nos pés de Bruno Fernandes. Ele toca para Zirkzee, que diminui para os visitantes! O autor do gol entrou no lugar de Højlund. pic.twitter.com/aS3EE9Tn3v— Nos Acréscimos (@nosacrescimosjf) December 19, 2024 First, under pressure, he passed the ball straight to Bruno Fernandes inside the six-yard box, as the Portuguese cut it across to Joshua Zirkzee, who slotted it into an empty net.Still, that was just a prelude to Forster’s absolute nightmare moment that was yet to come.Seven minutes later, he received a backpass and took his time over it, which was a horrible mistake, as Amad Diallo’s tackle deflected the ball into the back of the net. What an error! What a horrific way to stab your teammates and coach in the back!🚨🏴 GOAL | Tottenham 3-2 Manchester United | Amad DialloANOTHER TERRIBLE MISTAKE FROM FRASER FORSTER !!!!!!!!!!pic.twitter.com/uWNKzke6pB— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) December 19, 2024 The game was so on, and United kept pushing for the equalizer on that strange wave. Mazraoui was close to scoring United’s third goal before Heung-min Son killed the suspense with a goal straight from a corner.It needs to be said, though, that Tottenham’s sub Bergvall had visible contact with Bayindir, but there’s no VAR before the EFL Cup semi-final, and the referee’s decision was that the goal was valid.GOLAÇO OLÍMPICO DO SON!TOTTENHAM 4-2 MANCHESTER UNITED!pic.twitter.com/n98alz6B18— Curiosidades PL (@CuriosidadesPRL) December 19, 2024 Still, this crazy game was far from over, as Manchester United veteran Johny Evans nodded it in the stoppage time, following a corner from the right to reduce the gap to 4-3.Believe it or not, this crazy rollercoaster somehow ended at that point, although one could say that we should have seen a penalty shootout as a proper cheery on top of this incredible and unique game.EFL CUP – QUARTER-FINALSWednesdayArsenal – Crystal Palace 3-2 (0-1)/Jesus 54, 73, 81 – Mateta 4, Nketiah 84/Newcastle – Brentford 3-1 (2-0)/Tonali 9, 43, Schar 69 – Wissa 90+1/Southampton – Liverpool 1-2 (0-2)/Archer 59 – Darwin 24, Elliot 32/ThursdayTottenham – Manchester United 4-3 (1-0)/Solanke 15, 54, Kulusevski 46, Son 88 – Zirkzee 63, Diallo 70, Evans 90+4/
