Liverpool are left fuming as Spurs hero Lucas Bergvall escapes a second yellow card for tackle on Kostas Tsimikas, just moments before firing Ange Postecoglou’s side to victory
Lucas Bergvall controversially gave Tottenham a 1-0 advantage in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool.
The two sides played out a tight encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday and it looked set to end goalless after Dominic Solanke saw a goal ruled out for offside midway through the second half.
Yet, in the 86th minute Bergvall finished superbly following good work from the tireless Solanke to net his first goal for Spurs.
Ange Postecoglou’s side went onto see out the victory ahead of next month’s second leg at Anfield, but Bergvall’s decisive contribution was contentious.
Liverpool were left fuming by the goal, with the Swedish midfielder perhaps lucky to still be on the pitch.
After being booked in the first half for a sliding challenge on Luis Diaz – although replays suggested the Colombian went down with minimal contact – he took Kostas Tsimikas out with a sliding challenge.
However, Stuart Attwell didn’t show Bergvall a second yellow card, with the 18-year-old scoring moments after.
To add insult to injury, Tsimikas was off the pitch waiting to come back on with the Reds temporarily down to 10 men when the Swede netted.
The Liverpool bench was left fuming, with one member of the coaching staff receiving a yellow card from Attwell for his protests, while Arne Slot was seen remonstrating with the fourth official.
Speaking after the game, Slot was clear in his claims that the officials had made a big mistake.
‘On Sunday a decision went against Spurs, today it went for them,’ he said.
‘Unlucky for us. Yeah, no debate about that (it should have been a second yellow for Bergvall.’
MORE TO FOLLOW