The Premier League's top two sides both crashed out of the Carling Cup on Wednesday night as Liverpool joined Chelsea by losing 4-2 to a resurgent Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Rafa Benitez gambled on a second-string side against the holders, and even the return of Fernando Torres up front could not stop the Spurs juggernaut under Harry Redknapp. Two goals apiece from Fraizer Campbell, the on-loan Manchester United striker, and Roman Pavlyuchenko made it five wins and a draw since Redknapp took charge and he joked: "I should get out now, I've taken them as far as I can."
But the defender Michael Dawson said his side can retain the cup. "Of course we can do it: we showed that belief," he said. "Last year was fantastic and we wanted to carry that on. Harry's brought that confidence back." Blackburn also reached the quarter finals and the manager, Paul Ince, was delighted by the 2-1 victory against Roy Keane's Sunderland. He said: "To be fair to Roy, he caught me on the hop as I thought he was going to play a few kids and when I saw his team, it scared the life out of me."
akhan@thenational.ae
