Tottenham Hotspur ran out 1-0 victors on Tuesday night against their London rivals Chelsea in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. 

Chelsea controlled the majority of the game but Spurs took the lead through a penalty awarded by VAR. 

Despite being penned in their own half for the majority of the game, Spurs take a slim lead into the second leg at Stamford Bridge. 

VAR controversy

Harry Kane put the Lilywhites ahead after 26 minutes through an emphatic penalty which was awarded after a 93-second break in play to allow referee, Michael Oliver to review the appeal.

Toby Alderweireld's long ball saw Kane one-on-one with Kepa Arrizabalaga before being brought down by the young, Spanish goalkeeper. 

The away side disputed the decision to award the penalty as they believed Kane was marginally offside, however, Michael Oliver awarded Spurs the spot kick.

The 25-year-old made no mistake with his penalty, cannoning it into the bottom corner leaving Kepa planted to the ground. 

Spurs winning ugly

Had this have been a Premier League game, it would have been a sensational victory for Spurs.

The Lilywhites were second best to the Blues on the night and despite an almost relentless wave of pressure from Maurizio Sarri's side they managed to keep a clean sheet. 

Spurs, in the recent past, have had a problem with winning ugly. On many occasions, they have dominated teams and not been able to see out the victory.

Yet this season, Mauricio Pochettino's men seem to have found a new lease of determination and grit to grind out victories - grit which we have not really seen under Pochettino's reign before. 

Under the Argentine, we have seen some stunning victories but never really seen Spurs win ugly against the bigger sides, until now. 

Still all to play for...

Spurs take the advantage to Stamford Bridge in two weeks time - albeit a slender one.

After the game, Danny Rose said the north Londoners will not go to the Bridge with the mentality of holding out their one-goal lead. 

Should Chelsea score early on it suddenly becomes a whole different affair so Pochettino's men will likely need the second goal. 

Until last season, Spurs were on a 28-year winless record at Stamford Bridge but an Easter Sunday victory saw Dele Alli smash the 'curse'. This overdue win at the Bridge should give Spurs a great deal of confidence in being able to get a result on January 24. 

Pochettino and his side remain 90 minutes away from their first final since 2015 and what a huge 90 minutes it could prove to be for Tottenham Hotspur.