Spurs in quarterfinals of Carabao Cup with 2-1 win over Manchester City

Tottenham Hotspur beat Manchester City 2-1 in the Carabao Cup to progress to the quarterfinals.

Tottenham Hotspur forward Timo Werner, right, shoots during the Carabao Cup match against Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Wednesday. [AP/YONHAP]

Tottenham Hotspur cruised past Manchester City 2-1 in the Carabao Cup round of 16 on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals despite the absence of injured captain Son Heung-min.

Timo Werner opened the scoring for Spurs in the fifth minute at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, with their lead doubled by Pape Matar Sarr in the 25th minute.

Matheus Nunes pulled one back for City in stoppage time, but the second half remained goalless through the final whistle, putting an end to City’s run in the tournament.

Tottenham’s win over the reigning Premier League champions comes despite the London side’s unimpressive run in the league this season, where they have only secured four wins from the opening nine games.

Spurs captain Son was still absent from the roster as he has yet to fully recover from the injury he picked up during a Europa League game against Qarabag FK on Sept. 26.

He returned for the league fixture against West Ham on Oct. 19 and scored a goal, but Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou have opted to exclude him due to his yet-to-be healed injury.

With Thursday’s victory, Spurs have inched closer to winning their first title since the 2008 Carling Cup — now called the Carabao Cup.

Spurs will face Manchester United, who beat Leicester City 5-2 in the round of 16, in the quarterfinals in December.

Before the continuation of the Carabao Cup, the November international break begins in two weeks, during which the Korean national team will play two 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Kuwait and Palestine.

It remains unclear whether Son will be available for the international break due to his injury. Korea manager Hong Myung-bo initially called him up for the October break but later dropped him due to concerns over his injury.

Spurs will play three more fixtures before the November break, with the squad facing Aston Villa on Sunday at home.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]