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| Tottenham, who scored a key goal by Son Heung-min, was on the stage of the League Cup final. © AFP=News1 |
Tottenham made it to the finals of the English Football League Cup (Carabao Cup) and had a chance to raise the trophy again after the 2007-08 season. Son Heung-min (29) led the victory by scoring a decisive goal when needed. Son Heung-min, who scored No. 16 in the season with two consecutive goals, became the protagonist of the day by setting a milestone for his total number of 150 goals after advancing to the European stage.
Tottenham reached the final stage with a 2-0 win in the quarterfinals of the 2020-2021 Carabao Cup against Brentford (2nd division) held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on the morning of the 6th (Korean time). Tottenham will fight for the championship cup with another semi-final winner of Manchester United and Manchester City on the 7th.
The Carabao Cup is a smaller competition than the regular English Premier League, the Europa League against European clubs, and the England FA Cup, which boasts history and tradition. If the schedule continues tight, the stage that was pushed down to the next rank is the League Cup. However, if the championship cup has advanced to the visible semifinals, the posture should change.
At the official interview one day before the game, coach Morinew, who showed his will, saying, “The only game that is more important than the semi-finals is the finals,” coach Moinho, including Sohn Heung-min and Harry Kane Combi, dispatched all the main players such as Ndombele, Hoivier, and Legillon. And in the 12th minute of the first half, he defeated the baseline with a clean opening goal.
A left-footed cross from Regilon from the left flanked an exquisite trajectory and headed in front of the goal, and Musa Sissoko, who was in front of the door, made the opening goal with an accurate heading shot. The cross was good enough to have impactful heading shots even with both feet on the ground.
After Tottenham scored the goal earlier than expected, a tight tug of war unfolded. Brentford, the second division club, who had to look for a chance while blocking it well, went out more actively, and for a while, a battle was held around the half line. Unlike in previous years, it was not a home & away game, but a single game, so Brentford had to fight even though it was an away game.
Although Tottenham got a little more chance, Brentford also harassed Tottenham’s defense with a bitter attack. It was an anxious lead that the face of Director Morinho wasn’t straightened out well. This trend continued until the beginning of the second half, and it fluctuated greatly. Son Heung-min is the person who caused the wave.
Tottenham got a very good extra goal in the 15th minute of the second half. Son Heung-min attempted a cross from the right side with a non-stop right-footed volley shot, but a little off the opposite goal post and swallowed up regret. There was also a dizzying moment afterwards.
In the 17th minute of the second half, Brenford’s corner kick equalized the goal, but the scorer wiped the chest with a VAR read that Ivan Tony was in an offside position. In the League Cup, VAR is applied from the quarterfinals. As the crisis passed, a chance came again, and the protagonist was Son Heung-min.
In the 25th minute of the second half, Son Heung-min’s organ exploded at Tottenham’s counterattack chance. When Ndombele hit the through pass from a position just over the half line, Son Heung-min struck Brentford’s goal net by attempting a heavy right-footed shot while saving speed while rushing the ball at the correct timing.
This goal was even more valuable as Son Heung-min’s 150th goal since he stepped on the European stage through the German Bundesliga Hamburg in the 2010-2011 season.
Son Heung-min scored 49 goals in Germany through Hamburg and Leverkusen, and after transferring to Tottenham in the summer of 2015, he scored an additional 100 goals and scored 149 goals against Leeds United on the 2nd. And on this day, he added one more goal to build 150 goals.
With Son Heung-min’s goal, the game leaned a lot towards Tottenham. Brentford, in a hurry, killed himself in the 38th minute of the second half when Josh Dasilba was sent off after a tough tackle on Hoivier.
Afterwards, Tottenham spent the rest of his time well, finishing the game with a score of 2-0 and reaching the finals.