Lucas Bergvall proved the late hero as Tottenham snatched a 1-0 advantage over Liverpool in Wednesday’s first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final.
Bergvall’s first goal for the club came with just four minutes remaining at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, handing Spurs a narrow lead to take to Anfield for the return meeting on February 6.
Dominic Solanke had seen a goal ruled out just 10 minutes before, with a VAR review finding the striker offside after coolly slotting past Alisson from Pedro Porro’s throughball.
Spurs came flying out the blocks as Alisson denied Radu Dragusin from Son Heung-min’s cross early on, though there was concern for Rodrigo Bentancur soon after as he left the pitch on a stretcher.
The midfielder fell while unchallenged after just six minutes, resulting in a lengthy stoppage for medical attention, before the club subsequently confirmed Bentancur was conscious and en route to hospital for checks.
Porro should have scored before the hour but saw his effort on an open goal blocked by Virgil van Dijk after Alisson had gifted possession to the right-back, who then chipped wide just moments later.
Substitute Darwin Nunez was unable to beat debutant Antonin Kinsky when one-on-one from a tight angle, while Trent Alexander-Arnold’s delightful drive was touched off the line by a well-placed Dragusin.
Porro’s incisive pass saw Solanke offside before Liverpool wanted Bergvall dismissed for a second yellow card after a late challenge on Kostas Tsimikas.
That decision left Arne Slot furious and his anger only heightened when Bergvall came back to haunt the visitors with the decisive strike when slotting Solanke’s cutback pass into the bottom-right corner.