Wednesday evening saw the first of two days of the second semi-final of the League Cup. Tottenham and Liverpool faced each other at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
During the presentation of the starting eleven, it could be said that Lucas Bergvall and Dejan Kulusevski had taken their places in the starting eleven of the “Spurs”.
At the start of the match, some ugly scenes unfolded.
It had only been seven minutes since Rodrigo Bentancur suffered a blow when he landed poorly after an attempted header. The Uruguayan remained lying on his back for a long time – surrounded by medical staff and other players. Eventually he was carried out on a stretcher – covered with a blanket. In total, it was a seven to eight minute interruption. The 27-year-old received applause from both sides as he was carried away by medical staff.
Photo : Bildbyran.
– A sudden silence fell over the arena when fans of both teams realized that Bentancur, who had scored with an uncontested header, had not got up.
Photo: L’agence d’image.
Brennan Johnsson came in for Bentancur.
Liverpool have also suffered a series of injuries.
Jarell Quansah sensed something was wrong and reported a change after half an hour. Came the Japanese Wataru Endo.
The first half ended 0-0 – and Lucas Bergvall received good reviews from journalist Henry Winter.
“Good half of Lucas Bergvall. His first thought is to move forward, he is positive, has good touch, is strong and runs well. He is still very young. Born four months before the 2006 World Championships,” he wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Tottenham have provided an update on Rodrigo Bentancur.
“We can confirm that Rodrigo is conscious, talking and will be heading to hospital for further examination.”
The first goal came in the 77th minute of the match. And it is the “Spurs” who are responsible when Dominique Solanke was put in a free position and poked the ball.
But the Englishman was offside – and after a VAR review, the goal was ruled out.
With five minutes to go, the match was decided. Lucas Bergvall’s first goal of the match – and his first goal for Tottenham. Dominic Solanke played the Swede into the penalty area – and the former Djurgården player was clinical against a luckless Alisson.
And there were no happy faces in the Liverpool ranks.
Shortly before, Bergvall had bet categorically against Kostas Tsimikas. The tackle would, most believe, result in a yellow card. And as he had already received a yellow card 20 minutes from time, after a foul on Luis Diaz, many in Liverpool were hoping the Swede would be sent off.
But it didn’t turn out that way – and he was the one who scored.
– A fantastic, clean finish, said Sky journalist Alan Smith.
– It’s great from Solanke, who takes Solnake away before serving Bergvall. Bravo, and Bergvall cannot contain his joy, he continued.
Arne Slot was furious – and received a yellow card.
– It’s rare to see Arne Slot angry, he warned after telling the referees. Indeed, Lucas Bergvall scored the first goal – despite actually having been sent off just seconds earlier. His late tackle was simply missed by referee Stuart Atwell, but as the tackle was expected to result in a yellow card, VAR could not intervene, BBC journalist Nizaar Kinsella said.
He continued:
– This is an extremely controversial goal.
There was no further goal, but Tottenham won the match 1-0. They have thus put themselves in charge for the return, which will be played on February 6 at Anfield.
After the match, Lucas Bergvall received a 9/10 rating from Football London, with the following justification:
“A strong effort and his early tackle on Alisson early in the second half created an opportunity for Porro. I received an unfortunate first yellow card and should have received a second, but I got lucky as the game continued. He took full advantage by putting the ball back on goal after a pass from Solanke shortly after. He played the whole match (fortunately) and adapted very quickly,” the newspaper wrote.
Ange Postecoglou gave an update on Bentancur after the match.
– I don’t have all the information. But I understand that he is conscious, and that he was conscious when he entered the locker room. We took him to the hospital for an examination. It was worrying, but I hope he will be okay,” he told Sky Sports.
He also gave his opinion on the protagonist of the evening, Lucas Bergvall:
– He’s growing all the time. He has the ability to create space and works very hard for the team, he told Sky Sports.
Starter model:
Tottenham : Kinsky – Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence – Bergvall, Bentancur, Bissouma – Kulusevski, Solanke, Son.
Liverpool : Alisson, Bradley, Quansah, van Dijk, Tsimikas – Gravenberch, Mac Allister – Salah, Jones, Gakpo – Jota.
