'I want the players to feel good about it' - Postecoglou on Liverpool win

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou says he saw "so much growth" in his team during Wednesday's Carabao Cup first leg victory over Liverpool.

Already in the midst of a difficult run of form and without 10 players through injury and illness, Spurs lost Rodrigo Bentancur amid worrying scenes early on but reacted with a fine performance and will take a deserved 1-0 lead to Anfield for the second leg.

"We are having to deal with adversity all the time," Postecoglou told Sky Sports post-match.

"We started really well and then lost a key player. This lot are nothing if not resilient and they keep going and they did today.

"It is incredible when you think we had a couple of 18-year-olds out there. I have just seen so much growth. I have no doubt we will get through this period and get players back, what I've found in the meantime is we have some real players to help us to be the team we want to be."

The Spurs boss has come under fire at times in recent months for his insistence that he always wins a trophy in his second season, and many believed his chance of silverware through the Carabao Cup was over when his side were drawn against league leaders Liverpool in the semi-final.

However, he remained defiant and will now have a huge chance of securing a place in a Wembley final.

"People can keep mocking me about it but we will see," Postecoglou added.

"It is only half-time and going to Liverpool is not easy but just that feeling of having a victory against a really strong opponent I want the players to feel good about it."