Tottenham scored a controversial 1-0 win over Liverpool in the first leg of their League Cup semifinal with Lucas Bergvall scoring moments after he somehow avoided a second yellow card, in a game where Spurs’ star Rodrigo Bentancur was hospitalised after collapsing in the first half.
An incident-packed match was settled when Bergvall scored in the 86th minute.
Liverpool were left raging after referee Stuart Attwell opted not to book Bergvall for a challenge moments earlier on Konstantinos Tsimikas. The Liverpool defender was off the field getting treatment when Bergvall scored the winner.
“I think it was quite obvious it was going to be a second yellow [for Lucas Bergvall],” said Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. “He should have been off, it was a big moment.
— Referees are not good at being referees (@RedCardGiven) January 8, 2025
Red card should have been awarded
Bergvall is already on a yellow card, and this tackle was definitely reckless with the potential to cause injury. He did not get the ball pic.twitter.com/MIZ8NjbGwb
Bergvall. Absolutely jaw dropping. pic.twitter.com/M7UFWUEoUF
—(@TottenhamMasky) January 8, 2025
“I think it was pretty clear. It was a coincidence and a minute later he scores the winner.
“It is what it is. He [the referee] made a mistake in my opinion and I told him that. He thinks he didn’t but it was quite obvious I think and everyone on the sidelines knew it was supposed to be a yellow.
“There’s a linesman there, a fourth official there, there’s VAR, a referee and he doesn’t get a second yellow. I’m not saying this is the reason why we lost tonight but it was a big moment in the game.”
Liverpool manager Arne Slot said: “The decision he made had a lot of impact on the result tonight. There’s not a lot I can say from that.
“The fourth official told me why he thought it wasn’t a second yellow and he heard that probably from the referee. What we can say about it is that he said he didn’t stop the counter attack, every manager would say they prefer the second yellow than a free-kick.
“It is what it is, we hate to lose but the positive is that it is better to lose when there is a second leg.”
Tottenham coach Ange Postecoglou backed the referee’s decision not to book Bergvall for the second offence, saying his team had had similar calls go against them this season.
The result ended Liverpool’s 24-match unbeaten run and was only their second defeat of the season.
The first half was delayed for more than 10 minutes when Bentancur collapsed as he went to flick on a header at a corner – despite no opponent being near him.
He was taken to hospital and Postecoglou said: “I don’t have all the information. My understanding is he is conscious and he was conscious when he got to the dressing room. We took him to hospital to get him checked over.
“It was worrying and always a concern but from what I know hopefully he will be OK.”
Postecoglou opted to put in new goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, 21, just days after his arrival from Slavia Prague.
The son of former Czech Republic keeper of the same name made some strong saves and was neat with his feet, keeping Liverpool’s vaunted attack goalless.
“I would say I’m a big dreamer, I always make my own visions of the future. Probably this dream I have never dreamt this one yeah, amazing,” Kinsky said.
“I’m really happy for the whole club. I came three days ago, everything worked so good, all the people are kind. I’m so happy for them and the whole team but this is just the first leg.”
He celebrated with his sister at the end while his dad watched on from the stands.
“Yesterday I got to know there is a possibility of me being in goal today so I called them immediately, my sister came, her boyfriend, my parents, I was so happy to have them here on such a special night,” he said.
“That was him [his dad, a former goalkeeper, shown in the stands] I hope he’s proud. The whole family, my grandfather was also a goalkeeper, he was watching as well. I hope they are all happy.”
Newcastle United beat Arsenal 2-0 away in the first leg of the other semi-final on Tuesday.
Wednesday’s match also included the time in English soccer a referee has made an NFL-style in-stadium announcement about the outcome of a video review.
Tony Harperhttps://www.theroar.com.au/2025/01/09/he-should-have-been-off-liverpool-raging-as-spurs-rookie-scores-winner-moments-after-lucky-red-card-escape/‘He should have been off’: Liverpool raging as Spurs rookie scores winner moments after lucky red card escape
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