Tottenham were thrashed 4-0 at Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final on Thursday night, with Jamie Carragher labelling three Spurs midfielders a ‘disgrace’ for their performance.
It was complete dominance for the Reds at Anfield and that translated to a one-sided scoreline thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk.
Spurs had won the first leg 1-0 in north London, but it was hard to imagine how they managed that after watching the second contest.
Carragher was stunned with how poor Tottenham’s midfield was at Anfield, slamming the performances of the central trio of Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Sarr.
It was not a criticism of their quality, but the Reds legend couldn’t believe their lack of intensity and aggression against superior opposition.
‘When I looked at those three midfield players today I thought they were a disgrace, those Tottenham midfield players,’ Carragher told Sky Sports.
‘You’re playing a semi-final. First 15 minutes-half an hour, Liverpool will be on the ball, put you under pressure, but get after them, be aggressive.
‘Maybe forget the ball the first half an hour but be aggressive, even f you’re camped in your own half. It was still so easy for Liverpool to get to the edge of the box. Those midfield players didn’t even put a challenge in. It was shocking.’
Carragher was baffled by how easy it was for Liverpool, even saying that Accrington Stanley were a more difficult proposition in the FA Cup earlier this seaosn.
‘I think of a cup tie Liverpool played at home a few weeks ago in the FA Cup,’ he said. ‘Liverpool didn’t play their best team, but I think Accrington Stanley gave more than Tottenham tonight and gave Liverpool more of a problem. That’s not right.’
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou sounded like he agreed with Carragher, at least to some extent, also recognising the lack of aggression.
The fact that he dragged off Sarr and Bissouma before the hour-mark also illustrated what he thought of their performances.
‘Liverpool fully deserved the victory tonight,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘They were the better team. We just weren’t able to get a grip in any part of the game defensively or with the ball. They were too good for us.
‘We allowed them to get into the game, we weren’t aggressive as we needed to be. Again, we didn’t start the game off on the right foot, it allowed them to get comfortable. Once they got comfortable, it was difficult for us to get some control back.’
Former Liverpool and Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp added: ‘We expected more from Tottenham tonight. I cannot get my head around them not having one shot on target in a semi final.
‘I know it is difficult because you have a one-goal lead and you are coming to Anfield, but in the first half they are trying to play it out from the back, the goalkeeper is edgy and the midfield never showed any courage to get on the ball and make things happen.
‘They were so abject and it wasn’t the inexperienced players, it was the experienced ones.’
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