“Are you not entertained?” - Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou and Jamie Carragher in disagreement over tactics in win vs Manchester United

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher was not impressed with Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou's tactics against Manchester United. Spurs edged out a 4-3 thriller at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium to book a spot in the last four of the EFL Cup at the cost of Ruben Amorim's team on Thursday (December 19).

However, Carragher's criticism came from the point that Spurs were 3-0 up at one point in the game and allowed United back into the fixture due to a certain style of football. The former Liverpool defender was pointing to the fact that Spurs continued to play out of the back, with goalkeeper Fraser Forster unable to deploy the strategy.

It was a double mistake from Forster that saw Spurs gift United two goals to allow them back into the game. In the 88th minute, Son Heung-min scored directly from a corner to restore their two-goal cushion, with United snatching a third again in the dying minutes from their own set-piece.

With the game ending 4-3, Carragher told Sky Sports (via Metro):

"My criticism over Tottenham under the manager is they never change how they play no matter what the game state is. I don’t think football should be played the same from minute 1-90."

He added:

"What we’ve created now is robots non the pitch. I wasn’t a great player technically or physically, but I understood the game. Some of the things I saw tonight I wouldn’t have allowed to happen. The manager has told you to play a certain way but someone has to get a grip and say ‘no, we are changing for the next five or 10 minutes.’"

"It frustrates me when players can’t see how the game state changes and recognise they have to change their approach to suit it," he said.

Postecoglou disagreed, saying:

"I like the whole bit mate. Are you not entertained? Do you want a scrambling 1-0? I know the studio’s probably going into meltdown over my lack of tactics, but I love the fact we go out there and take it to opposition even though we’ve got so many absences at the minute. I really like the way we played tonight."

He added:

"I love football and I love watching teams that go out there and entertain. Obviously we want to be successful as well and we won’t be if we make things difficult for ourselves like we did tonight. We’re keeping all you folks entertained, creating plenty of discussion and I can’t see how that’s a bad thing."

Tottenham book EFL Cup SF spot alongside Liverpool, Arsenal, and Newcastle United

Tottenham were the last team to grab a semifinal spot in the 2024-25 EFL Cup. They joined local rivals Arsenal, who edged Crystal Palace 3-2, courtesy of a Gabriel Jesus hat-trick, on Wednesday (December 18).

Liverpool beat struggling Southampton 2-1, courtesy of goals from Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott, in a heavily rotated side. Newcastle made light work of Brentford, beating them 3-1, with Sandro Tonali grabbing a brace for the Magpies.

The draws for the last four are out, with Tottenham set to face Liverpool while Arsenal will take on Newcastle United on January 8, 2025. Liverpool are the defending champions, having beaten Chelsea 1-0 last time out at Wembley in the final.