Tottenham Hotspur blew a two-goal lead to allow West Ham United to stage a miraculous second-half comeback as the Hammers progressed to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup by virtue of their 3-2 win at Wembley Stadium.

Star striker Harry Kane was one of big-names several rested for the mid-week tie by Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino with one eye on a crunch Premier League clash with Manchester United on Saturday, but the hosts still had plenty of firepower in their side.

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The Lilywhites started in their customary 3-4-3 formation with Fernando Llorente, leading the line with Son Heung-min and Dele Alli flanking the lanky Spaniard. However, the biggest news of the night was that left-back Danny Rose started for the first time after a lengthy injury layoff.

Spurs, flying high in the Premier League, took the lead via Moussa Sissoko in the sixth minute after a slick counter-attack caught the Hammers cold.

Dele Alli would come close to scoring Spurs’ second with a header but West Ham keeper Adrian tipped his effort over the bar as the hosts continued to dominate proceedings after taking the lead.

Alli, however, wasn’t to be denied on the night as his curling effort beat the Spanish custodian eight minutes before the interval to give Spurs a commanding lead.

At the interval, Spurs looked like they were through to the next round but the final 45 minutes belonged to West Ham as Slaven Bilic’s men staged a comeback for the ages.

Andre Ayew reduced the deficit in the 55th minute by toe-poking a rebound past Michel Vorm and five minutes later, the Ghanian forward had drawn the visitors level.

West Ham, struggling in the Premier League and rumoured to be considering firing Slaven Bilic, then scored a third to complete their comeback which just might save the Croatian manager’s job.

Defender Angelo Ogbonna headed in a Manuel Lanzini corner in the 70th minute and while Spurs would try to pull one back to force the tie into extra-time, the West Ham defence stood firm to claim a memorable win.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United have all progressed to the quarters while Spurs join the likes of Liverpool to be the big names missing for the final eight of the cup competition.

The Lilywhites don’t have long to lick their wounds, however, for a trip to Old Trafford looms large.

Meanwhile, the Hammers will seek to use their win at Wembley to revitalise their flagging campaign when they host fellow Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace on Saturday.