Forster’s saviour: Spurs’ 9/10 “monster” showed he’d be perfect for Man Utd

And breathe. It might not have been straightforward, but Tottenham Hotspur are through to the semi-finals of the League Cup.

Ange Postecoglou’s goal of winning a trophy in his second season with the Lilywhites remains a distinct possibility after his side managed to get out of their quarter-final clash with Manchester United 4-3 winners last night.

However, considering the North Londoners were 3-0 up and cruising midway through the second half, it would be fair to say that they more than made a meal of things, especially Fraser Forster.

Fortunately for the veteran and his manager, there were enough players on the pitch doing what they could to drag the team through, including one star who’s precisely the sort of player United could have done with.

Fraser Forster’s game vs Man United

Now, the first thing to say is that since he’s come in for the injured Guglielmo Vicario, Forster has generally been quite good for Spurs, but his performance last night was simply shambolic.

United’s first goal came from an incredibly sloppy pass that was intercepted by Bruno Fernandes and finished by Joshua Zirkzee; their second goal came from him dilly-dallying on the ball, and while the final goal wasn’t entirely down to him, his positioning was still suspect.

Unsurprisingly, the watching press were flabbergasted, so much so that football.london’s Alasdair Gold awarded the six-capped Englishman a fully justified 2/10 match rating at full-time and wrote that he ‘changed the momentum of a game going only one way at 3-0.’

It was the sort of display that would see a goalkeeper dropped for a considerable amount of time.

However, due to the injury situation at the club, Postecoglou will just have to hope that Forster’s confidence can recover in time for the game against Liverpool on Saturday.

That said, as the team ultimately won, there were plenty of things to be happy about for the Spurs faithful, such as the performance of Dominic Solanke, who bailed out his keeper and was exactly what United needed on the night.

Dominic Solanke’s game vs Man United

Yes, while there were a few other players who put in a brilliant showing, like Dejan Kulusevski and Djed Spence, Spurs’ standout performer from last night was undoubtedly Solanke.

The former Bournemouth star looked like a threat throughout his 90 minutes on the pitch, and were it not for his two strikes, Forster would likely be on the end of a torrent of criticism from fans and pundits alike.

However, while bailing out his teammate is undoubtedly a notable narrative from last night’s action, the contrast in his performance with Rasmus Hojlund’s was another.

The Red Devils’ starting number nine, while talented, looked all at sea for most, if not all, of his 56 minutes of action and, as their statistics demonstrate, put in a far worse display than his opposite number.

For example, the Lilywhites’ “monster”, as dubbed by reporter George Sessions, scored twice from two shots on target, completed 50% of his dribbles, was accurate in 100% of his long balls, won eight duels and made one clearance, one interception and four tackles to help out in defence as well.

In contrast, the former Atalanta prospect failed to take a single shot on target, completed 33% of his dribbles, won just two duels, didn’t play a single long ball, was offside once and failed to do any defensive work whatsoever.

Moreover, the watching press took very different opinions on the pair as well, with Gold awarding Solanke a 9/10 match rating, while the Manchester Evening News’ Samuel Luckhurst awarded Hojlund a 5/10, writing that he ‘never got going.’

Ultimately, last night’s game was an incredible spectacle with sublime performances and utterly dire ones all over the pitch, but it’s resulted in a semi-final for Spurs, and a genuine chance of silverware come March, in large part thanks to Solanke’s efforts in front of goal.

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