Juventus head coach Thiago Motta was critical of his team for making too many mistakes at both ends of the pitch in their 2-2 draw with Parma on Wednesday.
The draw saw them drop to fourth in the Serie A table, with the gap to leaders Napoli now seven points. It was also the second straight game in which they had to come from behind to avoid defeat.
But while the 4-4 draw with Inter on Sunday was seen as a point gained, this was two dropped according to Motta.
"I think today we conceded too many restarts. At their goal kicks, we were trying to bring the defender out to then be able to press and cause an error, but we didn't succeed," he told DAZN after the match.
"In the defensive phase we made a lot of mistakes."
Forward Dusan Vlahovic missed a brilliant chance inside the six-yard box, but failed to convert. Motta was unwilling to dig out his striker, but did suggest his entire team have to be better at converting chances after having 16 efforts on goal.
"We have to have balance and control of the game. Today we did well until the last two metres, but in the end we have to do better," he said.
"We created danger on the counter and we have to continue like this.
"But we have to improve in bringing our team into the opponent's half, in finishing and not letting the opposition restart."
Timothy Weah supplied an assist and a goal to twice get Juventus back level in this match, but was later replaced by Inter hero Kenan Yildiz, who had scored twice to level at the weekend. The Turkey international almost scored a winner in added time and Motta was pleased with the output of both.
"Weah played well at San Siro and again today, scoring," Motta told Sky Sports.
"Kenan coming on later, with the game more open, is an ideal player to create situations. He has freedom in the final metres, it was normal today to want to open things up against such a closed team."
Pep Guardiola conceded Kevin De Bruyne will not feature before the November international break as Manchester City prepare to visit Bournemouth on Saturday.
De Bruyne has not played since mid-September when he was removed against Inter in the Champions League, with a thigh issue his latest injury setback.
The Belgium captain also spent a four-month spell on the sidelines last campaign, and Guardiola revealed bad news on De Bruyne's recovery before Wednesday's disappointing 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in the EFL Cup fourth round.
"I would like to tell you [when he can return], I especially would like to know, but I don't know," said Guardiola.
"He feels better to train, but to go to the level we need for competition he still has pain. Kevin has to feel good to express the huge talent that he has.
"If he doesn't come back as quickly as possible, we will struggle because we cannot sustain it with 14 or 15 players, but it is what it is.
"We need players to come back but it is what it is. Hopefully that can happen after the international break."
City sit a point clear of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table after their narrow 1-0 win over Southampton, while Bournemouth are 11th after their last-gasp leveller for a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.
Cherries head coach Andoni Iraola will be expecting a tough test at the Vitality Stadium, though suggested no one can match Villa's left-hand side – not even City.
"I made one sub in the first half for the first time in my career but I have to assume the responsibility because I put Julian [Araujo] in the most difficult game for a right-back that you can find in the Premier League," Iraola said.
"Everyone knows what they’re going to do, but it’s very difficult to defend. The timing and the way they turn the players in the middle, we need to be better in the decision making [going forward]."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Bournemouth – Antoine Semenyo
Antoine Semenyo has been involved in more Premier League shots following a ball carry than any other player this term (20 – 12 shots, eight chances created).
The Bournemouth midfielder also has three goals and an assist to his name this season in the competition, a tally he will hope to add to on Saturday.
Manchester City – Phil Foden
Talisman Erling Haaland only has one goal in four league matches against Bournemouth, so Phil Foden may be expected to step up here.
Foden has scored in each of his last five appearances against Bournemouth in all competitions (five goals), also providing three assists in these games.
MATCH PREDICTION – MANCHESTER CITY WIN
Guardiola's side are the heavy favourites for this clash, considering they have won all 14 of their Premier League games against Bournemouth.
City have outscored the Cherries 45-7 across their winning run, which is the best 100% record any team has against another in English top-flight history.
Overall, Bournemouth have won none of their 20 league games against Man City (D2 L18), too – it is the most one side has faced another without ever winning in English Football League history.
The Cherries have also lost all 11 of their Premier League games against sides starting the day top of the table, the worst 100% such loss rate in the competition’s history.
Given City are unbeaten in 28 Premier League games in 2024 as well, a feat bettered by only two sides in England's top-flight history, it is hard to imagine anything other than an away win here.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Bournemouth win – 19.8%
Draw – 22.2%
Manchester City win – 57.9%
Mikel Arteta wants to keep Arsenal in the hunt for the Premier League title when they visit Newcastle United on Saturday, opting to ignore comparisons with Jose Mourinho.
Former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher likened Arsenal's manager to Mourinho, suggesting the Gunners "don't play great football".
That verdict came after Sunday's 2-2 draw with Liverpool before Arsenal eased to a 3-0 win against Preston North End in the EFL Cup fourth round on Wednesday.
Arteta refused to be drawn on the comparison, however, insisting his focus was solely on repaying the faith of Arsenal's board and supporters with victory away to Newcastle.
"I don’t talk about myself. I leave him to give his opinion," Arteta started, referring to Carragher's punditry comments.
"Nobody is un-sackable. When this happens you have earned something and you have it in the bank somehow, but we are here to win football matches – never forget that."
Pressed on his five-year tenure at Arsenal, Arteta reiterated the same message, adding: "Very unusual. Unfortunately, it is very unusual.
"I will carry on with my job in the best possible way and football matches are the most important thing and you have to win many of them to keep your job."
Hosts Newcastle are winless in five league outings, slipping down to 12th in the table, and boss Eddie Howe warned no player is guaranteed selection before Wednesday's 2-0 against Chelsea in the same cup competition.
"No one is undroppable," he said, referring to Bruno Guimaraes.
"I think you make a valid point on Bruno’s minutes, his travelling, he’s done a lot, he’s always been there for us so we need to make sure we manage him well and manage the other players who have had a lot of minutes well."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Newcastle United – Alexander Isak
Alexander Isak averages a goal every 133 minutes in the Premier League for Newcastle – only Andrew Cole (one every 121 minutes) has a better average for the Magpies in the competition.
The Sweden striker has also scored 11 goals in his last 11 league appearances at St James’ Park, where he will hope to continue that run of form on Saturday.
Arsenal – Bukayo Saka
Bukayo Saka has created more chances than any other Premier League player this season (27), while he has either scored or assisted in 10 of his last 12 league games – including seven of eight matches this campaign.
His three goals and seven assists in 2024-25 also make him one of just four players to achieve double figures for goal involvements in the Premier League.
MATCH PREDICTION – ARSENAL WIN
Arsenal may be winless in their last two league games but they will be the favourites against Howe's struggling side.
Newcastle have not tasted victory in their last five league outings, their longest winless streak since a six-match run across August and September 2022.
Arsenal may have been beaten in their last trip to Bournemouth, too, but they have not suffered back-to-back away defeats in the league since May 2022.
The second of those defeats did come at Newcastle, however, where the Magpies have won two of their last three home Premier League games against Arsenal.
That is as many wins as Newcastle managed across 19 previous home league fixtures with Arsenal, who lost this exact fixture 1-0 last season thanks to Anthony Gordon's controversial winner.
Fortunately for Arteta, Arsenal have not suffered defeat in consecutive away league games against Newcastle since their first three such visits in the Premier League between 1994 and 1996.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Newcastle United win – 27.1%
Draw – 25.1%
Arsenal win – 47.8%
Evan Mobley scored 25 points, Donovan Mitchell added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 5-0 with a 134-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night in a game that included a special homecoming for LeBron James and his son, Bronny.
The win marks the first time the Cavs have started 5-0 since the 2016-17 season, led by LeBron, and the third time in franchise history.
In the final minutes, Bronny played for the second time as a pro and was inserted with 5:16 left. The younger James, who grew up in the arena, made a 14-foot jumper with 2:03 to play for his first NBA points.
Jarrett Allen added 20 points and 17 rebounds for Cleveland.
LeBron scored 26 and Anthony Davis had 22 and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who were unable to cut into Cleveland's lead after falling behind by 23 in the first half.
Mitchell made back-to-back 3-pointers as the Cavaliers made four treys in a span of 1:45 in the first quarter to open a 19-point lead after one.
Towns’ big night powers Knicks
Karl-Anthony Towns had 44 points and 12 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half and the New York Knicks rallied to beat the Miami Heat 116-107.
Towns had the fourth-most points for the Knicks against the Heat. Jamal Crawford scored 52 in 2007, Carmelo Anthony had 50 at Miami in 2013 and RJ Barrett 46 in 2022.
Towns shot 17 of 24 from the field, 4 of 5 from long range and 24 of his 44 points in the first half to keep New York close.
Mikal Bridges added 17 points for New York, which trailed by 13 in the third quarter before flipping the game. OG Anunoby had 11 points and Josh Hart finished with 10 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.
Tyler Herro had 34 points for Miami, hitting eight 3-pointers. Terry Rozier scored 16 points, Jimmy Butler had 15, Bam Adebayo 11 and Nikola Jovic 10.
The Knicks ended the third quarter on a 30-10 run, turning a 70-57 deficit into an 87-80 lead.
Thunder down Spurs to remain perfect
Lu Dort scored 20 points, Chet Holmgren added 19 and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 105-93to remain the only unbeaten team in the Western Conference.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 18 points, and Jalen Williams had 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Thunder. Oklahoma City has won all four of its games by at least 12 points.
Harrison Barnes scored 18 points, Jeremy Sochan had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Chris Paul added 14 points and nine assists for the Spurs.
San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama was held to six points on 1-for-5 shooting in his matchup with Holmgren, a fellow second-year big man. Wembanyama also had eight rebounds and three blocks.
Oklahoma City showed it can win even when Gilgeous-Alexander's shot is off. Gilgeous-Alexander, one of the league's top scorers with 28.7 points per game through his first three contests, made just 7 of 20 shots, including 2 of 10 from 3.
The Spurs cut Oklahoma City's lead to 82-75 in the fourth quarter before the Thunder went on a 9-2 run with Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench to regain control of the game. Rookie Ajay Mitchell scored five points during that stretch. The Thunder led 93-81 when Gilgeous-Alexander returned, and Oklahoma City was up 103-87 when he went to the bench for good with 2:46 remaining.
The Los Angeles Dodgers won their second World Series championship in five seasons, overcoming a five-run deficit with the help of three Yankees defensive miscues and rallying on sacrifice flies from Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts in the eighth inning to beat New York 7-6 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, Alex Verdugo’s RBI single chased Jack Flaherty in the second and Giancarlo Stanton’s third-inning homer against Ryan Brasier built a 5-0 Yankees lead.
But errors by Judge in center and Anthony Volpe at shortstop, combined with pitcher Gerrit Cole failing to cover first on Betts' grounder, helped Los Angeles score five unearned runs in the fifth.
After Stanton’s sixth-inning sacrifice fly put the Yankees back ahead 6-5, the Dodgers loaded the bases against loser Tommy Kahnle in the eighth before the sacrifice flies off Luke Weaver.
Winner Blake Treinen escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the bottom half by retiring Stanton on a flyout and striking out Anthony Rizzo.
Walker Buehler, making his first relief appearance since his rookie season in 2018, pitched a perfect ninth for the save.
Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers’ record-setting $700 million signing and baseball’s first 50-homer, 50-steal player, went 2 for 19 with no RBIs and had one single after separating his shoulder during a stolen base attempt in Game 2.
Freddie Freeman hit a two-run single to tie the Series record of 12 RBIs, set by Bobby Richardson over seven games in 1960. With the Dodgers one out from losing Friday’s opener, Freeman hit a game-ending grand slam reminiscent of Kirk Gibson’s homer off Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley in 1988’s Game 1 that sparked Los Angeles to the title.
The Dodgers earned their eighth championship and seventh since leaving Brooklyn for Los Angeles - their first in a non-shortened season since 1988. They won a neutral-site World Series against Tampa Bay in 2020 after a 60-game regular season and couldn’t have a parade because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Russell Martin is hopeful his Southampton players can use their midweek EFL Cup win to provide some momentum when they take on Everton.
The Saints have picked up just one point from their first nine games back in the Premier League ahead of Saturday's visit of Everton to St Mary's.
All three of Southampton's wins so far this season have come in the EFL Cup, most recently beating second-tier Stoke City 3-2 on Tuesday.
Despite only just scraping through thanks to a late winner after squandering a two-goal lead, Martin wants it to be used as a springboard to push on in the league.
"We need to celebrate every victory as a group," Martin said. "Whether it's against a Championship team in the cup, a Premier League game, you have to enjoy those moments together.
"The guys were a bit annoyed coming in, they didn't look very happy, so I reminded them they're allowed to smile. By the end they are smiling and the music was on. Hopefully we can carry that on on Saturday."
Everton are eight points better off than bottom-place Southampton in 16th, having recovered from a slow start by collecting nine points across a five-game unbeaten run.
The Toffees were far from their best in last weekend's clash with Fulham at Goodison Park, but Beto came off the substitutes’ bench to rescue a last-gasp 1-1 draw.
And that spirit to fight until the end is something manager Sean Dyche wants to see more of from his side as they prepare for their trip to England's South Coast.
"I thought we were short of where we have been against Fulham," he said. "On the other hand, the balance of football is it lasts for 90-plus minutes. I have asked the players for relentlessness and I thought that was on show.
"We weren't playing our best, but we found a way to get something from the game. Over a season, it is important to keep getting something from games in the Premier League."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Southampton - Jan Bednarek
Bednarek has started all nine of Southampton's games in the Premier League this season and also started the midweek cup win over Stoke.
While he boasts the second-most completed passes (691) of all players in the division this season, he is currently on the longest run of starts without winning a game (22) since Jonny Evans between April 2017 and January 2018 (28 games).
Everton - Ashley Young
Young has managed to prove his doubters wrong with recent performances, which includes three assists in his past five Premier League appearances - as many as he had across his previous 124.
The full-back is one of three players to have assisted as many as three goals after turning 39 years of age, along with Teddy Sherringham and Ryan Giggs.
MATCH PREDICTION - DRAW
Southampton are without a win in their past 22 Premier League matches - only Derby County (32) and Sunderland (26) have even endured longer runs.
Should the Saints lose this weekend, they will equal Sheffield United's unwanted record for the fewest points (one) after the first 10 games of a Premier League season.
Everton, meanwhile, are five league games without defeat after losing their previous five, making this their best-such run since between August and October 2022 under Frank Lampard (six games).
The Toffees have lost five of their last seven top-flight games away at Southampton, though, albeit the most recent such trip ended in a 2-1 win in October 2022.
One further glimmer of hope for Southampton is that they have won 13 Premier League home games against Everton - against no side have they won more often on home soil (also 13 wins versus Newcastle United).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Southampton - 37.5%
Everton - 36.2%
Draw - 26.3%
Ruud van Nistelrooy says he "couldn't ask for more" from Manchester United as they marked his first match in interim charge with a 5-2 victory over Leicester City.
Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes both scored twice, while Alejandro Garnacho was also on target as the Red Devils booked their place in the EFL Cup quarter-finals, where they will play Tottenham.
Van Nistelrooy was overseeing United in their first match since Erik ten Hag's dismissal on Monday, with Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim expected to be announced as the latter's replacement.
"Credit to the players, they were fantastic today. I couldn't ask for more," he said.
"Against West Ham and Fenerbahce, we created so much and couldn't finish. All of a sudden, we had some luck on our side, and that made it a great night.
"It is always the target to react and attack. The reaction of the players after the Leicester goals was excellent, and they deserve credit. I am glad the crowd will go home happy."
Van Nistelrooy acknowledged he had mixed emotions at taking over the reins from Ten Hag, who brought the former United striker back to Old Trafford as his assistant coach in July.
However, he underlined the importance of concentrating on the job in hand, and ensuring his players were ready for Wednesday's tie.
"It is clear that this is going to be short term, so for me, today was the most important day after what happened," he added. "Of course, receiving the players and getting together for the first day after Erik had to leave was a sad day to share.
"He was the one that asked me to work back here again, and in the first conversation we had, I felt such a passion and care for this football club. That is why I was so sad to see him go.
"Having said that, football and life continue, and we knew that 75,000 people would be waiting for us here today, with millions more watching at home behind their screens and radios. You have to switch then as players.
"We tried to switch that button for the players, try to get the mindset going, and go out tonight and give everything for the fans."
On his own future at United, he continued: "I am here to help, to serve and give my everything for the club. That will never change."
Leicester City were rolled over in a 5-2 defeat to a Manchester United side in transition during midweek in the EFL Cup, but Steve Cooper believes it’s all par for the course for his side.
It came off the back of a disappointing 3-1 derby defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend. While it was a heavily rotated squad that lined up in Manchester, such a resounding defeat cannot help confidence ahead of their fixture against fellow promoted side, Ipswich Town.
But Cooper can look back on previous form and feel some comfort in his side’s ability to come back, particularly against those teams familiar with the Championship.
The last time the East Midlands outfit travelled away from home in the Premier League, they found themselves 2-0 down to Southampton at half-time but delivered a miraculous second-half performance to win 3-2. For Cooper, such changing fortunes are to be expected.
“The Forest and Southampton game, they are probably great examples of what will come in future this season,” he said following the defeat to Forest.
“We will have games where we get really good results and the world feels like a brilliant place and we’ll get the opposite like we had at Forest.”
“That’s the nature of the league that we’re playing in and where we’re at. What we’ve got to do is make sure that we stay on task and stay on track, which we are doing. We never want to accept defeat too easily, but make sure that it doesn’t deter us from the journey that we’re on.”
“That journey will be full of ups and downs, there’s no doubt about that.”
Leicester currently sit fifteenth on nine points, ahead of Ipswich, who are without a win so far this season and currently languishing in the relegation zone on four points.
But Cooper will hope the “ups” return soon as failing to register a result against fellow potential relegation candidates could prove costly further down the line.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ipswich Town – Liam Delap
Delap has scored 56% of Ipswich’s Premier League goals this season (5/9) – only Chris Wood has netted a higher share of his team’s goals so far this term (64% for Nottingham Forest).
He is Ipswich’s biggest threat having taken more shots (13) and shots on target (eight) than any other player in the squad.
Leicester City – Jamie Vardy
The Foxes veteran is in a rich vein of form. He’s scored in his last two games, and aged 37 years and 296 days on the day of this game would be the oldest player to score in three consecutive Premier League appearances with a goal here.
He is Leicester’s top scorer this season with four goals in nine Premier League games. It is one more than he managed in 37 appearances in his last top-flight campaign of 2022-23.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Both times the newly-promoted sides faced each other in the Championship last season, the outcome was a 1-1 draw.
Ipswich have won all three of their previous Premier League home games against Leicester – 4-1 in January 1995, 2-0 in January 2001 and 2-0 in December 2001.
However, in the last nine meetings between the two sides, Leicester have lost just one (W5 D3).
A comeback could be on the cards if the Foxes are to win at the weekend. In their last Premier League away game, Leicester City came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against fellow promoted opposition, Southampton.
It ended a run of 11 top-flight away games without a win for the Foxes, last winning consecutive such matches in November 2022 (a run of three).
Ipswich have dropped 10 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, with only Brentford (11) dropping more. Indeed, the Tractor Boys let a two-goal lead slip to lose 4-3 in their last match.
But a win is overdue for the hosts, who remain winless in their nine league games so far this season – in their league history, only in 2009-10 (first 14) and 2018-19 (first 11) have they had a longer winless run from the start of a campaign.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Ipswich Town – 42.8%
Leicester City – 32.1%
Draw – 25.1%
Girona swept past fifth-division side Extremadura with a 4-0 win to reach the Copa del Rey second round on Wednesday.
A depleted Girona were missing 13 players due to injuries but had no problems beating lowly Extremadura thanks to a brace by Bojan Miovski and goals from Bryan Gil and Arnau Martinez.
Girona manager Michel had to call up seven academy players for the trip to Badajoz and had more bad news as striker Arnaut Danjuma was forced off with a leg injury.
Gil opened the scoring with a strike from the edge of the box in the 12th minute, however, to ease any concerns for the LaLiga side.
Miovski's header in the 58th minute saw Girona extend their lead and the Macedonian forward scored the third four minutes later before Martinez completed the rout from long range.
Pep Guardiola conceded Manchester City are in a "difficult position" with injuries after their 2-1 EFL Cup defeat to Tottenham on Wednesday.
Timo Werner and Pape Sarr did the damage in the first half of the fourth-round tie, though Matheus Nunes reduced the deficit on the stroke of half-time.
That came after Manuel Akanji was forced to withdraw from the lineup through a warm-up injury, while Savinho left the pitch on a stretcher after the interval.
Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, Rodri, Jeremy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne are the other first-team options out injured, and Guardiola cut a concerned figure at the full-time whistle.
"We are in a difficult position with the amount of players," the Man City boss told Sky Sports. "It is what it is. It is normal. The limit of players is there.
"We will see on Thursday [for Savinho's injury]. Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker [have] no chance to play the next games."
City hold a one-point lead over Liverpool at the Premier League summit before the champions visit Bournemouth on Saturday.
Guardiola was, at least, encouraged by the performances of his youngsters, with James McAtee and Nico O'Reilly both starting at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"Exceptional. The young players did well," he added. "They are so fast, and I am really pleased.
"If you play a game that quickly, they attack quicker. Of course, in the second half, there were transitions. They could have finished the game.
Guardiola opted to leave Erling Haaland on the bench throughout, suggesting it was not worth risking City's key talisman.
"The plan was not to play today," Guardiola confirmed on Haaland. "We have not had much recovery, and it was a waste of energy."
Eddie Howe hopes Newcastle United "feel a bit better about themselves" after booking their place in the EFL Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory over Chelsea.
The Magpies claimed only their second victory in seven matches across all competitions, with Alexander Isak and an Axel Disasi own goal sending them through to the last eight.
Howe's side were beaten 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday, and the head coach was pleased with his players' response against the same opposition three days on.
"[A] really good performance tonight, especially in the first half," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"We got our pressing attitude bang on and got a lot of regains high up the pitch, which is where the first goal came from. [I am] delighted with the contribution from the whole squad.
"You always learn from every game and try to put things into practice in the next match. I just felt there was a better feel in our out of possession delivery tonight. We were much better on the details and turning the regains into chances going forwards.
"[In the] second half, it wasn't an easy game to manage. They were bringing on some good players from the bench to add to the quality they already had on the pitch, but I thought we defended really well.
"This place is an amazing venue to play in and that was shown again tonight. Sold out, great atmosphere, good performance and I hope everyone feels a bit better about themselves now."
Meanwhile, Chelsea suffered only their second defeat in 11 games across all competitions, but Enzo Maresca was impressed by what he saw from the visitors, who had an xG of 1.97 over the 90 minutes at St James' Park.
"I think it worked if we analysed the performance. If we analysed the result, it didn't work," he told reporters during his post-match press conference.
"For 20 minutes until their goal, we were in control of the game. In the last 10 minutes of the first half, we had two clear-cut chances but didn't score. In the second half, we were in control of the game.
"We lost the goals because of 10 minutes. For the rest, we were quite good. We did very well tonight, but there are many things we can do better."
Brentford await Newcastle in the next round after the Magpies made the quarter-finals for a fourth time in the last five seasons.
Ange Postecoglou hailed Tottenham's EFL Cup fourth-round victory over Manchester City as his side continue to evolve under his stewardship.
Timo Werner and Pape Sarr were both on target in the first half on Wednesday, with Matheus Nunes reducing the deficit on the stroke of half-time.
Spurs held on against a much-rotated City side, who suffered their first defeat of the season after a 2-1 reverse in north London.
Tottenham disappointed in a 1-0 loss away to Crystal Palace in the Premier League before this win, though Postecoglou was delighted with his side's response.
"It's a cup tie played against a formidable opponent, I thought we did well for the most part," he told Sky Sports.
"We didn't allow too many clear-cut chances. We could have put the game away, but City are always going to push you.
"It's an ever-evolving process, this team is growing all the time, but when you have growth you are going to stumble.
"As disappointed as we were on Sunday I had great belief we could come out today and put up a great show.
"Both our goals were quality goals, they have to be as City don't give easy chances."
Spurs had been eliminated in their last three EFL Cup ties against fellow Premier League sides, going out to Chelsea in 2021-22, Nottingham Forest in 2022-23 and Fulham in 2023-24.
Werner eased any nerves after just five minutes, however, with his close-range finish easing the mounting pressure on the former Chelsea forward.
"Great for Timo. He is going through a tough time, but the build-up play was great," Postecoglou added.
"It should lift him, we are supporting him, but it is down to him and his approach to things. He was unlucky to not get one or two more, if attacking players don't score they feel anxiety a bit."
Postecoglou hammered his side after their collapse at the start of October in a 3-2 defeat to Brighton, and similar criticism followed after their defeat to Palace last time out.
The Australian coach is remaining level-headed, though.
"I don't believe in big moments or catastrophic moments - we are the same team that we were three days ago. Hopefully, we have more good days ahead of us," he concluded.
Shayden Morris' winner helped Aberdeen defeat Rangers 2-1 to maintain their unbeaten run and stay level on points with Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
The hosts took the lead through Nicky Devlin after 31 minutes at the Pittodrie Stadium before Nedim Bajrami's individual brilliance saw Rangers back on level terms 18 minutes into the second half.
Celebrations soon resumed in Aberdeen as substitute Morris crashed in the winner 11 minutes later.
Victory sees Jimmy Thelin's side move nine points clear of Rangers, who sit in third, as they remain level on 28 points with Celtic, only behind on goal difference.
Celtic continued to add to that superior goal difference with a 2-0 win over Dundee at Celtic Park.
Two goals inside 10 minutes in the second half from Alistair Johnston and Arne Engels gave them a routine victory to keep them unbeaten at the top of the table.
Tottenham will host Manchester United for a place in the EFL Cup semi-finals as the last-eight ties were confirmed on Wednesday.
Ange Postecoglou's side inflicted Manchester City's first defeat of the 2024-25 campaign with a 2-1 victory at home in the fourth round.
Timo Werner and Pape Sarr were both on target for Spurs, whose next test in the competition will come against United, who smashed Leicester City 5-2 to reach the next stage.
That victory marked Ruud van Nistelrooy's first game in interim charge after Erik ten Hag's dismissal on Monday, though Sporting's Ruben Amorim is expected to soon be appointed at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag ended a six-year trophy drought for United when winning the EFL Cup in 2023, leaving the possibility for Amorim to follow suit should he arrive and guide his side past Tottenham.
Arsenal will also meet London rivals Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium in another quarter-final tie.
Mikel Arteta's side eased past Preston North End in the fourth round, while Palace stunned Aston Villa with a 2-1 away win after Daichi Kamada's second-half winner.
Staying in London, Brentford sneaked past Sheffield Wednesday on penalties and will visit Newcastle United, who battled to a 2-0 home win over Chelsea to reach the last eight.
Defending champions Liverpool edged to a 3-2 win over Brighton, earning a quarter-final trip to Southampton after Russel Martin's side snatched a late 3-2 win over Stoke City on Tuesday.
All quarter-final clashes are set to be played across the week of December 17.
EFL Cup quarter-final draw in full:
Tottenham vs Manchester United
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
Newcastle United vs Brentford
Southampton vs Liverpool
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