No sooner had Antonio Conte issued his warning that Tottenham were far from a team ready to win trophies than they slid feebly out of the Carabao Cup, beaten by two goals in seven minutes at Nottingham Forest.
Match Report
And the consolation of being proved right is unlikely to soothe any of the pain for Conte. His team were totally outplayed at the City Ground, and their miserable run of form extended to just two wins in seven games.
Renan Lodi and Jesse Lingard scored the Forest goals, their first for the club having joined amid the blur of summer activity, and Steve Cooper’s side might easily have scored more were it not for an array of fine save by Fraser Forster on his Spurs debut.
Forest finished the tie with 10 men after a red card for Orel Mangala, his second yellow for a clumsy scissor tackle from behind on Richarlison, who returned from the bench after a calf injury and had a goal ruled out for offside in the closing stages.
Conte made his intentions clear with his selection. There were no youth team players along for the ride and Harry Kane started up front, albeit with a heavy strapping on his left arm. It must have been an anxious night for Gareth Southgate, preparing to unveil his England squad with so many of his players in action.
Cooper, with survival on his mind and Crystal Palace at home on Saturday, made nine changes and his team set about making a good case for freshness over familiarity, almost taking an early lead in unusual fashion.
An attempted clearance by Davinson Sanchez crashed into Taiwo Awoniyi and spun past motionless Forster, hit a post and spun out towards Jesse Lingard, who headed it back towards goal but not with enough force to beat the goalkeeper. Forster pushed it wide.
Forest were quick and purposeful as they dominated the opening exchanges. Spurs were sluggish in contrast. Lingard fizzed one over from distance and Forster made a fine save, a strong left hand to frustrate Joe Worrall at a corner.
Half an hour had passed by the time Wayne Hennessey was required to make his first save. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg won possession in midfield and Tottenham sprang forward. Hojbjerg released Ivan Perisic and his low cross from the left evaded Kane and bounced through to Matt Doherty as he charged into the penalty area.
Doherty caught it sweetly and Hennessey responded with a reaction save to his right.
Conte replaced Hojbjerg with Bentancur during the interval but the flow of the game remained unchanged, with Forest taking the lead through Lodi, five minutes into the second half.
The Spurs boss claimed the move had started with a foul on Yves Bissouma in midfield but referee Peter Bankes was not interested. Forest worked the ball wide to their Brazilian left back, who jinked inside Sanchez and unleashed a fabulous curling shot with his right foot from the edge of the box.
It sailed past Forster and inside the far post. Tottenham had conceded the first goal for the seventh game in a row, and their problems deepened. Forster stuck out a left boot to deny Sam Surridge but was soon beaten again.
Serge Aurier, against his former club, tore down the right flank and delivered a cross on the run to Surridge, who headed it back across goal to Lingard, unmarked as he nodded the ball into the net from close range.
Two goals in seven minutes put them in control Conte made three substitutions with Kane among those to come off, and went with a front three of Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski and Bryan Gil.
Mangala’s dismissal in the 75th minute gave them hope but Forest deserved to go through and Spurs deserved to go out.
Match Events
22' Lingard's long shot stopped
23' Forster maked decent save
31' Doherty's shot stopped by goalkeeper
49' GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-0 Tottenham (Lodi)
53' Surridge missed decent chance
56' GOAL! Nottingham Forest 2-0 Tottenham (Lingard)
75' Second Yellow Card! Mangala sent off
81' OFFSIDE! Richarlison’s goal disallowed
Line-ups
Nottingham Forest XI: Hennessey, Aurier, Boly, Lingard, Taiwo Awoniyi, Mangala, Sam Surridge, Joe Worrall, Ryan Yates, Lodi, Lewis O'Brien
Subs: Colback, Freuler, Steve Cook, Dean Henderson, Bonaventure, Gibbs-White, Mbe Soh, Neco Williams, Brennan Johnson
Tottenham XI: Fraser Forster, Perisic, Kane, Doherty, Hojbjerg, Lenglet, Dier, Sanchez, Bissouma, Sessegnon, Skipp
Subs: Lloris, Bentancur, Richarlison, Tanganga, Kulusevski, Aparecido, Gil, Djed Spence, Pape Matar Sarr