Carabao Cup: Bergvall’s late strike gives Tottenham narrow win over Liverpool in semi-final first leg

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Lucas Bergvall’s late goal secured a dramatic 1-0 victory for Tottenham over Liverpool in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.

The Swedish midfielder’s first goal for the club came just four minutes from time, delivering a crucial advantage ahead of the return leg at Anfield.

At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the game saw Liverpool’s unbeaten away record this season come to an end in a thrilling contest. Tottenham’s new goalkeeper, Antonin Kinsky, marked his debut with a series of outstanding saves that kept the visitors at bay.

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Match review

The game began with an energetic start, but Tottenham suffered an early blow when Rodrigo Bentancur was stretchered off following an untimely injury. He was replaced by Brennan Johnson, and the team quickly regrouped, creating several chances through Heung-Min Son and Dominic Solanke.

However, Liverpool responded with opportunities of their own, as Alexis Mac Allister’s header and Cody Gakpo’s long-range effort were expertly saved by Kinsky. The Czech shot-stopper also denied Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah on multiple occasions to keep the game level at halftime.

Spurs missed a glorious chance to take the lead in the second half. Pedro Porro’s close-range effort was blocked by Virgil van Dijk. Moments later, Solanke thought he had broken the deadlock. However, his goal was ruled out for offside after a historic VAR announcement was made over the stadium tannoy.

Lucas Bergvall man of the moment

Despite the setback, Tottenham pushed forward and found the decisive goal late in the game. Solanke held off Ibrahima Konate, turned inside, and set up Bergvall, who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner.

Liverpool mounted a late surge, forcing Kinsky into a stunning one-handed save to deny Núñez from close range. However, Tottenham held firm to secure the win and take a slim lead into the second leg.

The match’s attendance numbered 59,037, with South Korean teenager Yang Min-Hyeok making his first appearance in Tottenham’s matchday squad. All eyes now turn to Anfield, where the tie will be decided.

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