Lucas Bergvall goalscorer for Tottenham against Liverpool

Became controversial match hero in the league cup semi

Lucas Bergvall, 18, was close to being deported.

Instead, the Swede scored his first goal for Tottenham and became a great match hero in the 1–0 victory against Liverpool.

– He should have received his second yellow card, says Liverpool team captain Virgil van Dijk to Sky Sports.

Talk about being at the center of the action.

With a yellow card from earlier, Lucas Bergvall came in late for a tackle on Liverpool's Kostas Tsimikas. In Viaplay's broadcast, there was speculation that Bergvall should have received his second yellow card and thus be sent off.

But it didn't happen that way.

First goal

Bergvall had to stay on the field and less than a minute later he had made it 1-0.

Tottenham stormed forward and Bergvall ran into the penalty area. There he received the ball served by Dominic Solanke and put it into the net on a strike in the 86th minute. Notably, the left-back Tsimikas was not on the field as he received treatment after Bergvall's tackle.

Liverpool are raging

Liverpool coach Arne Slot was furious and received a yellow card for his protests.

– It's not talk, says Slot when asked if Bergvall should have been expelled, according to The Athletic reporter James Pearce.

Slot wasn't the only one in the Liverpool camp to be annoyed either.

The team captain Virgil van Dijk was directly in front of the referee Stuart Attwell and protested.

After the match, he was still upset and believed that Bergvall should have been sent off before the goal.

– It is what it is. He (the referee) made a mistake in my opinion and I told him so. He thinks he didn't do it but it was pretty obvious and everyone on the sidelines thought it was a yellow card,” van Dijk told Sky Sports.

Bergvall is defended by Tottenham's coach Ange Postecoglou.

– We have been told that if the referee shows an advantage and it is not a cynical foul, the player should not be warned. It was obvious that it was like that today, he says.

The goal was Bergvall's first for Tottenham and it was also enough to secure the 1–0 victory. The second leg of the league cup semi-final will be played on February 6 at Anfield.