NICE ONE MY SON
Spurs one step closer to ending 13-year trophy drought
TOTTENHAM are one win away from ending their 13-year trophy drought after reaching the Carabao Cup final.
Goals from Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-min against Brentford, who ended the game with 10 men, sent Spurs to Wembley on April 25.
Jose Mourinho will be aiming to get his hands on the trophy for a fifth time against either his former club Manchester United or Manchester City. Spurs’ last trophy was the 2008 League Cup but no manager has won the competition more times than Mourinho.
He said: ‘I came to England in 2004 and I remember in that period I had to learn the meaning of the cups here and
took it seriously. Respect what English clubs are, what English lower division teams are. Try not to be surprised in any of the games with teams with smaller quality and when you have a big game, like we had with Chelsea (in the fourth round), go serious and with ambitions. ‘If you see the winners you realise that the big clubs, they want to win it. The big clubs they care about it, no doubt, and the final says a lot — Tottenham v Manchester United or Manchester City.’ Sissoko said: ‘Our last final was the Champions League final and we lost it. We were all disappointed for months and now we are going to have the opportunity to play a final at Wembley. You just have to win it, it doesn’t matter the way. We are going to try our best and try to bring that trophy home.’ The final was put back two months in the hope that coronavirus restrictions will be eased and some supporters will be able to attend. Mourinho said: ‘I support April 25. Give us some time, hopefully the world will change and improve a little bit. I’m not praying for too much — a full Wembley — but maybe we can have some supporters.’ After Sissoko’s early header, Spurs did not kill off the tie until the 70th minute through Son’s goal, not long after Brentford’s Ivan Toney had a goal ruled out following a tight VAR offside call.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank described defeat in Brentford’s first ever major semi-final as heartbreaking but was proud of his players. He also hoped midfielder Josh Dasilva would be spared a three-game ban following his late dismissal after catching Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg on the shin with a studs-up challenge as he appeared to slip. Referee Mike Dean showed Dasilva a red card after reviewing the 84th minute incident on the monitor. Frank said: ‘You can give it — and I understand why it’s given — but I really hope it won’t be three games. ‘He slipped and if you know the player, he has never done something like that in his whole career.’