Man Utd player ratings vs Tottenham: Altay Bayindir, what are you ...
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Ruben Amorim's side so nearly came from three goals down at Spurs but came up short at the last after moments of madness from their stand-in stopper
Manchester United exited the Carabao Cup at the quarter-final stage after an enthralling 4-3 defeat at Tottenham on Thursday night. Ruben Amorim made five changes to the starting XI which beat Manchester City on Sunday, with Marcus Rashford left out of the squad altogether again after revealing his desire to leave earlier in the week.
The much-rotated United were made to pay when they were caught cold early on. A Tottenham free-kick routine teed up Pedro Porro on the edge of the box, and his shot was parried away by backup goalkeeper Altay Bayindir into the path of Dominic Solanke, who swept home on the volley having found himself unmarked at close range.
Though the visitors had a lot of possession and territory, they nearly found themselves two down when Dejan Kulusevski's low cross though the box was cut out by Manuel Ugarte, who was rather thankful the loose ball bounced the other side of the post and behind.
Almost immediately from kick-off at the start of the second half, United conceded a second. James Maddison's cut-back was only half cleared by Lisandro Martinez, and Kulusevski reacted quickest to convert and double Spurs' lead.
From there, United were in danger of caving in and Tottenham soon had their third. Djed Spence's through ball set Solanke racing away against Martinez, and the England striker was able to come inside onto his stronger right foot before firing past Bayindir.
Amorim made a triple substitution to try and stem the tide, and that paid dividends straight away as Joshua Zirkzee pulled one back. Fraser Forster's loose pass to Radu Dragusin was pounced upon by Bruno Fernandes, who squared for the Dutchman to tap in. Spurs continued to crumble as Forster gifted them a second goal, kicking straight into the onrushing Amad Diallo as United pulled to within one goal again.
A 25-yarder from Diallo then caught Forster so off guard he had to kick the bouncing ball away as nerves shrouded much of the stadium. But Spurs managed to weather the storm and scored a fourth entering the game's closing stages. Son Heung-min's wicked corner floated all the way over Bayindir, who claimed he was fouled by Lucas Bergvall, and into the net.
There was a smidgen of late hope for United when Jonny Evans headed in a stoppage-time corner, but that proved to be too little and too late as Spurs advanced to the semi-finals.
GOAL rates Manchester United's players from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium...
