Tottenham secured a comfortable victory in their Carabao Cup second-round match against Charlton Athletic, progressing in the competition. The match, held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, saw a number of notable performances, including a debut goal for new signing Sávio and a thunderous strike from Mikey Moore.
The home side entered the fixture looking to rebound from a recent league defeat. With no European football this season, a successful cup run is seen as important for Spurs. The team delivered a strong performance, with everything appearing to come together on the night.
Key Performances and Goals
The scoring began with Mikey Moore, the 19-year-old homegrown player, who broke the deadlock with a powerful shot from the edge of the area. His goal, described as a fierce, arrow-like shot, flew through Charlton goalkeeper Tiernan Brooks and into the net in the 41st minute. This marked a significant moment for Moore, whose only other goal for Spurs was against Elfsborg in the Europa League in January 2025.
Just four minutes after Moore‘s opener, Dominic Solanke extended Tottenham‘s lead. He capitalised on hesitant defending inside the box, pouncing on a loose ball and sweeping a clinical finish into the bottom corner. This goal marked Solanke‘s first of the season.
In the second half, substitute Kevin Danso made an immediate impact. Coming on in the 65th minute, his first touch was a header past Brooks from a Mateus Fernandes free-kick, making the score 3-0. This was Danso‘s first goal for the club in his 52nd appearance.
The night also featured the debut of Sávio, a £75m signing from Manchester City, who entered the game in the 71st minute. Just 11 minutes after coming on, Sávio scored his debut goal, weaving past defenders and hitting a low left-foot shot into the bottom corner. His impact continued shortly after when his shot hit teammate Ben Davies and went in for Tottenham‘s fifth goal, which was credited to Davies.
Charlton Athletic managed a late consolation goal when another substitute, Lloyd Jones, headed home from a corner in the 87th minute. Despite this, Tottenham maintained control of the match.
Team Selection and Player Returns
Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi made several changes to his starting lineup, bringing back players who were either recovering from injury or had limited involvement in the previous league match. Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mateus Fernandes, and Dominic Solanke all started, having been fit enough only for the bench in the recent league fixture. Additionally, Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven, who had not played in pre-season and were unavailable for the previous match, were among the substitutes and later entered the game to gain important minutes.
Charlton manager Nathan Jones also made significant changes to his squad, with 10 alterations from their previous win at West Ham. This resulted in a challenging evening for his team, which he described as “absolutely disastrous.”
The match saw an attendance of 49,008 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Tottenham‘s next challenge in the Carabao Cup will be against Liverpool at Anfield, a prospect that De Zerbi welcomed, stating that to win the competition, such games must be won.
The referee for the match was Adam Herczeg. Tottenham‘s goals were scored by Moore in the 41st minute, Solanke in the 45th minute, Danso in the 67th minute, Sávio in the 82nd minute, and Davies in the 85th minute. Charlton‘s goal came from Jones in the 87th minute.
Source: theguardian.com