Tottenham fails to reach League Cup final

Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 0-4 defeat against Liverpool on Friday, in the second leg of the 2024-2025 English Carabao Cup (League Cup) semifinals held at Anfield in Liverpool, the U.K. Having won the first leg 1-0 at home on January 9, Tottenham only needed a draw to advance to the final. However, after conceding the opening goal to Cody Gakpo in the 34th minute of the first half, they went on to allow four goals in total, losing the tie with an aggregate score of 1-4 and ultimately failing to reach the final.

During the match, Tottenham managed only five shots compared to Liverpool’s 26 and had a possession rate of 36 percent, significantly trailing behind Liverpool’s 64 percent. “The words used to describe Tottenham’s defeat today against Liverpool were ‘miserable and shameful,’” the BBC harshly criticized Tottenham’s performance. Son Heung-min started as a left-wing forward and played the full match but was unable to prevent his team’s defeat. According to the football analytics site FotMob, Son registered two shots, one of which hit the post.

With this loss, Tottenham will likely finish the season without a trophy again. The club has failed to secure any major trophy since winning the League Cup in the 2007-2008 season. Currently sitting 14th in the English Premier League (EPL), Tottenham is effectively out of the title race. While they still have the 2024-2025 UEFA Europa League and FA Cup to compete in, both tournaments present tougher opposition than the League Cup, making their prospects even dimmer. The Europa League round of 16 matchups have yet to be determined, but in the FA Cup round of 32, they will face Aston Villa, who currently sit eighth in the EPL.

If Tottenham ends this season without a title, Son, who made his professional debut with Hamburg, Germany, in 2010, will also miss out on his first career championship. Since joining Tottenham in 2015, Son has won the EPL Golden Boot in the 2021-2022 season but has yet to experience a single title victory.


김정훈 기자 hun@donga.com