Tottenham Hotspur reached the League Cup final after goals from Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-min sank Championship (second-tier) Brentford 2-0 on Tuesday to set up a clash with Manchester United or Manchester City in April's showpiece.
Fellow London side Brentford, playing in their first semifinal in a major cup competition, started brightly but fell behind in the 12th minute when unmarked French midfielder Sissoko headed in a fine Sergio Reguilon cross from the left.
The visitors, who had beaten four top-flight teams on their way to the semis, thought they had drawn level after the break when striker Ivan Toney headed home but the goal was disallowed for a very tight offside, which was spotted by VAR. Toney's grounded knee was ruled to be offside before he rose to head in from close range after Ethan Pinnock nodded a cross back across the face of goal.
Jose Mourinho's Spurs side responded to that let-off with South Korean forward Son collecting a fine pass from Tanguy Ndombele and bursting goalwards before slotting past goalkeeper David Raya to make it 2-0 after 70 minutes.
SON HEUNG-MIN.
He pushes Tottenham one step closer to the Carabao Cup final pic.twitter.com/9HN5ZtnWIw— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 5, 2021
Brentford's disappointment was compounded when Josh Dasilva was sent off six minutes from time for an over-the-top challenge on Tottenham's Denmark midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who was immediately substituted with blood streaming down his shin.
Spurs have not won a major trophy since their League Cup triumph over Chelsea in 2008 but this will be their ninth appearance in the final of the competition, which they have won four times. The showpiece match will be held at Wembley on April 25, after the Football League moved the date back from February to increase the chances of fans being able to attend.
United host City in the other semifinal at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
