Manager Ruben Amorim will no doubt be talking about his regrets at Manchester United's failure to come back against Tottenham, but they should also blame themselves for letting Spurs take a three-goal lead.
The Red Devils were the better team for most of the first half but ended up 1 goal behind. Man United did not put enough pressure on Pedro Porro and Dominic Solanke's rebound.
United's next two goals, both coming in the first 10 minutes of the second half, were both down to Lisandro Martinez's errors. The first goal saw the Argentine centre-back's backheel clearance accidentally set up Kulusevski for an easy goal. The second goal was even worse when Martinez failed to mark Solanke and allowed the Spurs striker to cut in from the left.
A strong attack and two mistakes from goalkeeper Fraser Forster helped the Red Devils reduce the score to 2-3 and come very close to a comeback. However, mistakes in defense, specifically from Andre Onana, led to their fourth goal. Therefore, Jonny Evans' late goal in the last minute no longer had much meaning.
Obviously, Amorim cannot let Man United concede such basic goals. Besides, the position of goalkeeper Altay Bayindir also leaves questions. This goalkeeper started for Man United because Amorim decided to respect Erik ten Hag's promise that he would play in the Carabao Cup. And when Man United stopped in the quarter-finals, the next time Bayindir appeared in the goal of the "Red Devils" will be very far away.
In the defeat against Tottenham, Marcus Rashford was again left out of Amorim's squad. This is the second time in a row that the Portuguese strategist has left the English striker out of the squad.
"I pick players who I feel are strong enough to play a game with full intensity. I treat everyone the same, there is no difference, even with Rashford. It's all for the progress of the team, I don't think I was wrong to leave him out" - Amorim said when asked about Rashford.
With their Carabao Cup exit, Amorim's side will now have to focus on the Premier League, where they are currently 13th, six points off the top four.
"Tonight I didn't feel anything. We can't think that winning the title makes everything okay. It's a long journey. We're improving and the team's target is to win the Premier League. How long will it take? I don't know but that's the team's target," Amorim said.
