5 hours ago
6 ARTICLE AD
Jamie Carragher believes that even Accrington Stanley provided a bigger test to Liverpool than Tottenham managed on Thursday night.
The Reds thrashed the north London outfit 4-0 in the second leg of the Carabao Cup tie to overcome their first leg defeat and progress 4-1 on aggregate.
7
7
Liverpool now face Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on March 16 whilst Spurs could go yet another season without a trophy.
Their last success came in 2008 with a League Cup win, meaning 2025 could be a 17th consecutive year without silverware.
Spurs have consistently struggled to make it count in big moments but Carragher has found something much more alarming.
He believes League Two side Accrington caused more problems for Liverpool when they lost 4-0 to the Reds in their FA Cup third round clash last month.
"I'm not just saying this to try and make a headline but actually I think of a cup tie Liverpool played at home a few weeks ago in the FA Cup," he said on Sky Sports.
"I think Accrington Stanley, now Liverpool didn't play their best team, don't get me wrong...
"But they gave more than Tottenham and caused Liverpool more of a problem in that game, that's not right."
One statistic in particular back up Carragher's claim too as Accrington managed more shots on target than Spurs - one vs zero.
Meanwhile, Accrington had a better xG of 0.24 at full time compared with Spurs' 0.19.
Liverpool may have been 1-0 down heading into the second leg but their former defender had little to no belief that Spurs would get the job done.
7
7
"It was never in doubt before the game, it's Tottenham," Carragher said.
"When do Tottenham ever win a big game? When do Tottenham ever go somewhere and surprise you and win against the odds?
"The odds were massively in favour of Liverpool, they're at home at Anfield, they're the best team in the country, possibly the best team in Europe right now.
"But it's not just this Spurs team, they never shock you, they never do something out of the ordinary.
"I'm trying to think the last big game they won and I'd probably have to go back to that Ajax game, the semi-final of the Champions League [in 2019].
"I was in the stadium that night, and I don't want to take nothing away from Tottenham but they were lucky.
7
7
"They got battered for most of the game, bit of a freak [game], they got two goals in the last minute. But whenever they go into big games in football, no one ever believes they're going to win.
"That's not me as a Liverpool fan, those Tottenham fans there tonight, not one of them would've believed they were going to Wembley."
Former Tottenham and Liverpool man Jamie Redknapp was alongside Carragher and also gave a damning assessment.
"From Tottenham's perspective, I cannot remember a team in my lifetime go down with less of a fight than what they did today," Redknapp said.
"Not having one shot on target in a semi-final second leg when you're trying to do something, trying to change the course of your history...
"I feel sorry for those young players. The manager is changing... Djed Spence, I think Djed Spence played 14 different positions tonight, I've never seen anything like it.
Jason Cundy refuses to back down on 'boring' Liverpool view after being taken to task by fan
"You've got your young players, you're meant to protect them. Archie Gray and [Lucas] Bergvall, they're young men and they're trying to fight, they're trying their best.
"I look at the experienced players today, to lead and to make sure that they set the right tempo, they didn't do that one bit.
"I mean, there's been some lows, [Crystal] Palace, Everton, Ipswich this season but that today, we look at that scoreline, I mean it's just horrendous."
Ex-Spurs defender Michael Dawson added: "Really, really damaging that performance.
"I came here tonight and knew it was going to be a tough task. Did I expect it to be like that? No, I thought there'd be more of a fight from those players.
"First leg, you come here 1-0 up, it was going to be backs against the wall. They go behind in the first half and they didn't show any character.
7
"In possession, out of possession, desire to keep the ball out the back of the net, to come here and get beat four without a fight and have a shot on target, damaging that performance."
