Ange Postecoglou defended his decision to make nine changes after Tottenham suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat at Fulham in the Carabao Cup second round.
Spurs entered this contest following back-to-back wins in the Premier League, which had generated a feelgood factor around the club despite the departure of all-time top scorer Harry Kane on the eve of the new season.
Only Micky van de Ven and Richarlison retained their starting berths from the win at Bournemouth and while Tottenham improved from a sluggish start, penalties were required after a 1-1 draw and Davinson Sanchez failed to score from 12 yards to hand the visitors a 5-3 spot-kick loss.
It inflicted a painful dent to the momentum built during the first couple of months of the Postecoglou era but the Australian pointed to the need for players to get minutes when quizzed on his changes.
“Obviously disappointed with the outcome, getting knocked out of the cup,” Postecoglou said after Richarlison’s second-half goal cancelled out Van de Ven’s own-goal after 17 minutes.
“We weren’t at our fluent best, particularly early on which was not surprising considering the amount of changes I made. A lot of the boys tonight, it was their first start of the season.
“We lacked cohesion and fluency, but I really liked the way we hung in there. There are many different ways to grow as a team and we showed some real character.
“We had our moments in the second half to maybe go and win it. We weren’t able to get over the line and lost on penalties.
“It is my priority (the cups) but there is no European football so how am I going to find out about our players? What opportunity would I have to do that other than the game? They are all part of our club.
“We thought they’d be able to bring a different energy tonight and that doesn’t mean the cup or any game isn’t our priority.
“From my perspective, we’re very much at the discovery stage so we need to find out and give the players the opportunity to contribute, because that’s why they’re here.
“They’re not just here to make up the numbers. They keep working hard and deserved the opportunity to go out and play tonight.”
Fulham boss Marco Silva felt the best team won and insisted his players would react differently in the future if a repeat occurred of a bizarre incident with right-back Kenny Tete after half-time.
Tete was forced to leave the pitch for a number of minutes after he broke his boot and Spurs went on to score, with Ivan Perisic making the most of space on Tottenham’s left-hand side to cross in for Richarlison to head home the equaliser in the 56th minute.
Dutch full-back Tete was all smiles at full-time after he scored the decisive fifth kick to help Fulham progress into round three with a 5-3 shoot-out success at Craven Cottage.
“Yes the best team won and the best team on the pitch will play in the next round of Carabao Cup,” Silva, who served a touchline ban, said.
“During the 97 minutes, we were the team with the more chances to score and unfortunately we concede a goal in one moment we were with 10 men after the Kenny Tete incident.
“In the future we are going to approach that in a different way because you cannot give the opposition the chance to play against 10 men for two or three minutes because that incident happens.
“Of course it was the first and it will be the last time it happens for us because we will approach in a very different way.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
Desailly calls on LaLiga to do more to protect Vinicius Junior
Marcel Desailly has called on LaLiga to do more to protect Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior and other players who have been targeted by racist abuse.
Vinicius broke down at a press conference earlier this month as he opened up about the abuse he has received from the stands while representing Madrid.
The Brazil international is not alone in that regard, with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni another example, and World Cup winner Desailly wants more to be done.
"Vinicius has spoken out, but it's not about him - it's about LaLiga and the people who can take action," he told Stats Perform.
"We have the power to change things, but we are not doing enough. Samuel Eto'o had the same issue before.
"Vinicius is one of those who is suffering because the administrative people in charge are not willing to hit harder than they are."
Vinicius has been a key player for LaLiga champions-elect Madrid once again this season with 13 goals and five assists in 23 outings.
Desailly regards Vinicius, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 Champions League final, as one of the finest players of his generation.
"He's a very ambitious player," Desailly said. "I think he's improved a lot because he is now clinical in assisting and finishing.
"When you look at someone like Ousmane Dembele, his stats are not as good.
"Then you look at Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, another who has improved - there is potential for each of those to get close to Vinicius."
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