Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Brentford, Carabao Cup Semi-Final: report, ratings and verdict

Posted 5th January 2021 1 min Read Time By
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Tottenham Hotspur 4-2-3-1

2

0

Brentford 4-3-3

Half Time: 1 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ( Attendance: NA )
1 min

Brentford bowed out of the Carabao Cup as they lost 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur in a game filled with VAR controversy.

Premier League side Spurs opened the scoring after 13 minutes through Moussa Sissoko, who headed home after a wonderful cross from Sergio Reguilon.

That proved to be the only true chance of the opening period, where shots on goal were few and far between.

However, Brentford opened the second period on the front froot with Bryan Mbuemo beating Davinson Sanchez on the right flank before cutting back to Ivan Toney, only to see his effort brilliantly blocked by Serge Aurier.

The Bees did have the ball in the back of the net on 63 minutes though – although Toney’s knee cap was adjudged to have been offside by VAR and the equaliser cruelly ruled out. 

Minutes later Spurs effectively ended the contest as Son Heung-min’s blistering forward run ended with a clinical finish from the South Korean.

To add insult to injury, Josh Dasilva was sent off by VAR with six minutes remaining following a heavy challenge on Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.

Key Points

Check out all the key talking points and reaction from London Football Scene below…

Key Moment

Ivan Toney’s disallowed goal took the life out of Brentford, with Spurs exploiting their VAR let-off minutes later to double their advantage.

Moan of the Match

VAR once again ruined a game of football – ruling out Brentford’s equaliser and seeing Josh Dasilva sent-off.

Talking Point

Despite the loss, how much confidence can the Bees take from this performance considering they held their own against one of the best sides in England?

Man of the Match

Bryan Mbuemo – lively, active, brilliant. The Frenchman continued to try to engineer chances and drove at the Tottenham defence time and time again.

Tweet of the Match

Referee Watch

Mike Dean (Cheshire) – hardly at his best, but the controversy can clearly be aimed at a different villain as VAR ruined this game for the Bees.

Atmosphere

Brentford’s first major semi-final and there were no fans to bring the passion and noise in the sparse, expansive Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Verdict

Neither Brentford nor Tottenham should be disappointed by this performance. VAR, on the other hand, was a travesty which continues to ruin the beautiful game.

Line Ups

Tottenham Hotspur 4-2-3-1

Lloris; Aurier, Sanchez, Dier, Reguilon (Davies, 71); Sissoko, Hojbjerg (Tanganga, 86); Lucas Moura (Winks, 71), NDombele, Son (Vinicius, 89); Kane

Subs not used:

Hart, Alderweireld, White, Alli, Bergwijn

Booked

Reguilon

Brentford 4-3-3

Raya; Dalsgaard, Pinnock, Bech Sorensen, Henry; Dasilva, Janelt (Marcondes, 74), Jensen; Mbuemo (Forss, 81), Toney, Canos (Fosu, 74)

Subs not used:

Daniels, Ghoddos, Roerslev, Stevens, Gilbert, Haygarth

Booked

Janelt, Canos, Mbuemo

Sent Off

Dasilva

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