Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham Hotspur. Carabao Cup Round 3.
The City GroundAttendance28,384.
Report and free match highlights as Nottingham Forest knock out Tottenham in the third round of the Carabao Cup; Renan Lodi and Jesse Lingard scored at the beginning of the second half; Orel Mangala was sent off for Forest while Richarlison had a goal disallowed for offside
Wednesday 9 November 2022 23:37, UK
Tottenham exited the Carabao Cup in dismal fashion as goals from Renan Lodi and Jesse Lingard gave Nottingham Forest a 2-0 third round win against Antonio Conte's side.
Forest were well worth the victory and struck the post in the first half through Taiwo Awoniyi, with Lingard and Joe Worrall also going close as Spurs put in another inferior first-half display.
But after the break, Lodi curled home past Fraser Forster before Lingard completed another counterattack for the home side with a close-range header just minutes later.
Forest saw Orel Mangala sent off with 15 minutes to go after two bookable offences and substitute Richarlison, who replaced Harry Kane off the bench following injury, saw a goal disallowed for offside as Spurs tried to mount a comeback.
This competition was a credible chance for Antonio Conte's men to end their trophy drought but this was a dismal display. Tottenham showed their intent by naming a strong team, with no hint of a rest for Harry Kane, who has started every game this season.
Forest made nine changes but started strongly and could have gone ahead inside the opening 10 minutes. Davinson Sanchez's attempted clearance crashed into Awoniyi and the ball deflected past Forster into the post, with the Spurs goalkeeper forced to sprawl across goal and keep out Lingard's header from the rebound.
It was another nondescript start from Spurs, who have been dogged by poor first-half performances recently, and Forest continued to push as Lingard had an effort deflected over and then Forster saved at point-blank range from Worrall.
Spurs managed to get in the game, though never really threatened before the break apart from when Ivan Perisic's cross found its way to Matt Doherty at the far post and the Irishman's first-time effort was beaten away by Wayne Hennessey.
Conte's men, who have now gone eight games without scoring in the first half, would have been hoping for a customary strong showing after the break, but it did not come as Forest started strongly.
Lingard stung the palms of Forster before a deserved breakthrough came in the 50th minute.
Forest won possession back high up the pitch and played the ball out to Lodi, who was allowed to advance on goal and cut inside before curling a delightful finish into the far corner.
The hosts were rampant and only a brilliant stop with his feet by Forster denied Sam Surridge a second. But there was no stopping Forest as Lingard finally got his first goal for the club in the 57th minute, nodding in from close range after Surridge sent Serge Aurier's cross back across goal.
Kane was promptly withdrawn in a seemingly pre-planned substitution, which did little to help Spurs' chances of a comeback.
Forest's night was marred by Mangala's red card in the 76th minute as he picked up a second yellow card for scything down Richarlison.
It did not prove costly, though, as Spurs could not mount a recovery, with Richarlison seeing an effort ruled out for offside.
Antonio Conte admitted that England captain Harry Kane is "really, really tired" less than a week before England fly out to the World Cup.
He was withdrawn after 59 minutes, with his side 2-0 down, in a seemingly pre-planned move, but the Three Lions skipper has played all but 33 minutes of Tottenham's 12 games in the last 39 days.
Conte revealed Kane pulled out of Tuesday's training session to preserve energy, but it is far from ideal with England's campaign in Qatar starting on November 21, with another Premier League game on Saturday to come.
"With Harry, until this morning we waited to see if he could start or not," the Italian said. "But in this situation, he was the only striker for us. For this reason, I can only say thanks for the availability they show me.
"It was a problem of tiredness. Really, really tired and yesterday we had a soft training session and at one point he stopped himself to recover energy.
"But he's okay, it's only fatigue but it's normal because Harry played every game. When you have a player like him it's difficult to decide you don't play with him.
"Other players maybe they could tell me, 'I'm tired and don't want to play and help the team'. I have a group of players who are men and good players because of this.
"Another could be selfish and think for himself because in one week they have to play the World Cup. Instead, Harry Kane showed to be a really good man.
"Today it was really difficult if Kane told me, 'maybe it's better I don't start today because I risk a lot to have an injury'. But I repeat, it's normal, what's happening in this period."
Meanwhile, Lingard has had an underwhelming start to his Forest career after his surprise free transfer in the summer and had not scored or made an assist in his opening 12 appearances - but he put that right on a memorable night at the City Ground.
The former Manchester United forward headed home from close range in the second half, seven minutes after setting up Lodi's opener.
Boss Steve Cooper said: "I thought he was excellent. He scored one with his head and could have scored another with his head. I thought his positional play was good. He took up the spaces and found the spaces really well.
"And, more importantly, he did what you want your attacking players to do - you want them to be a threat and have end product.
"He did that, not just with the goal, but some of his final passes and link-up play was really good, too. I'm really pleased with him tonight, as I am with everybody else."
