It was a night to forget for Tottenham as they crashed out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of League Two side Colchester United on Tuesday evening.
Going to penalties after it finished goalless after 90 minutes of action, the hosts caused another upset in the competition as they progressed through after Christian Eriksen and Lucas Moura had both missed from 12 yards.
Mauricio Pochettino claimed ahead of the campaign that his team need to win a trophy this season for it to be deemed as a success, and the defeat against The U's means that Spurs may very well finish the season empty handed again unless they win the FA Cup in May.
Currently 10 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool after only six games on the board, the Lilywhites will also have to be at their very best if they want to make another run to the Champions League final in Istanbul.
While everyone is quite rightly disappointed with the exit from the Carabao Cup at the first time of asking, it does make things slightly easier for Pochettino and his team on the fixtures front over the next few months.
The next round of the competition is due to take place week commencing Monday, October 28 and that now gives the team a free week between their games away at both Liverpool and Everton.
Their cup defeat also means that the team will have one less game in an already cluttered December had they made it through to the quarter-finals for the second year in succession.
Tottenham have seven games in the final month of the year and no Carabao Cup fixture will allow Pochettino and his coaching staff a full week of preparation for the home fixture against Chelsea once they return from Wolves.
That game could prove crucial in terms of the top four come the end of the season and two other fixtures at the turn of the year could also have a huge bearing on the final table.
Tottenham are due to host title contenders Liverpool and Man City in the opening few weeks of 2020, and now they can fully focus on them without having the distraction of Carabao Cup semi-finals taking place.
The first leg is due to be played in the week leading up to the game against the Champions League holders, with the second leg a few days before the City match in N17.
While everyone would like a run to the cup final as Spurs look to end their 11-year run without a trophy, there is a slight positive to take from the cup exit even though it may not seem like it now after the club's lowest point in recent years.
