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One of the shocks of the EFL Cup third round took place at the Colchester Stadium, as Colchester United eliminated Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 on penalties.
Tottenham are 69 places above their hosts on the league hierarchy, and as such would have expected to get the better of their League 2 opponents.
However, neither side could score a goal in regular time, with the fixture heading into penalties.
Christian Eriksen and Lucas Moura ultimately missed their spotkicks to send the home side through to the next round.
Here, we shall be highlighting three talking points from the League Cup fixture.
#3 More away day misery for Tottenham
It might be hard to believe, but Spurs are without an away victory in the Premier League since defeating Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage back in the middle of January.
Since then, the Lilywhites have played nine league fixtures, and failed to win any of them, losing seven and drawing two.
If you factor in their losses to Crystal Palace and Chelsea in the FA Cup and League Cup respectively, it means that Tottenham have gone a whopping 11 games without victory on the road in domestic competitions.
The fixture against much lower opposition offered an opportunity to rectify this anomaly, but Mauricio Pochetino's men faltered and failed to take their chances, with Colchester United holding out for the draw.
Penalty shootouts are very much lotteries which can go either way and that proved to be the case, as Tottenham got dumped out of the League Cup, which was no less than they deserved for their disjointed play on the night.
For all Spurs hope to achieve this season, their shambolic away form could prove to be a stumbling block, and the earlier Mauricio Pochetino finds a way to halt their atrocious performances away from home, the better it would be for Tottenham.
#2 Fringe players fail to take their chances
Tottenham are one of the biggest sides in England, and concordantly have a relatively large squad to boot.
As with all other big sides, there are several quality players who are regularly left out of the first-team picture, relegated to substitute appearances.
The League Cup is generally used as a testing ground for the bigger teams, and the fact that Tottenham were paired with a much weaker opposition offered Pochettino to chance to try out players on the fringes as well as young academy prospects.
Starts were handed to forgotten first teamers like Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama, while players like Dele Alli were also given opportunities to find their best form.
There was also space for academy youngsters like Troy Parrott and Japhet Tanganga who got first starts for the senior team.
Mauricio Pochettino would have been hoping for the fielded players to step up to the plate, but that failed to happen, as Tottenham toiled in vain for the first 60 minutes of the fixture.
Ultimately, the 47-year-old had to turn to his bench, bringing on Heung-Min Son, Eric Lamela and Christian Eriksen for the last half hour in a bid to swing the pendulum in his side's favour, but it was a little too late, as the visitors simply could not break down a determined Colchester backline.
In a damning indictment of the performances of the youngsters sent out against Colchester, all three substitutions made by Pochettino saw him remove the academy prospects, with Oliver Skipp, Troy Parrott and Japhet Tanganga all substituted for their more accomplished colleagues.
The game against Colchester offered an opportunity for young players and fringe players to send their statement of intent to the manager, but they failed to take the opportunity and it is hard to imagine when such opportunity would arise again.
#1 Tottenham's wait for a major trophy goes on
Tottenham pride themselves as one of the big clubs in England, but it is pertinent to note that for all of the progress they have made in recent years, there is no trophy to show for their efforts.
In the last two decades, they have won just one trophy; the 2008 League Cup, and since then, it has been one season of heartbreak after another.
Tottenham once had a reputation of selling off their best players from Dimitar Berbatov to Gareth Bale. Tremendous praise must be given to the board for going a long way to eradicating that notion, and it is undeniable that they have been able to make steady gains in the last five years.
However, there is only so far you can go without having the requisite trophies to show for your efforts, and the players know as much.
Harry Kane is hands down one of the top five strikers in the world, but his trophy cabinet is still empty, while Christian Eriksen for all of his talents has not won anything since arriving England.
By contrast, Kyle Walker who left Tottenham a little over two years ago is already a two-time Premier League winner, and his former teammates must have begun to question if their long-term ambitions would be served at White Hart Lane.
Eriksen has so far refused to sign a contract extension and is seemingly on his way out of the club for free in the summer, and it is only a matter of time before others like Kane, Son and Lamela follow suit.
Never mind their surprise run to the final of the Champions League last season, continental glory is a bit out of their reach, while the Premier League title race already seems a foregone conclusion between Liverpool and Manchester City.
Tottenham's genuine hopes for success this season lies in the Cup competitions, and with Colchester United having ended their League Cup campaign before it truly began. Unless they can triumph in the FA Cup, it is highly likely to be another trophyless season for Tottenham.
