Carabao Cup semi-final, first leg: Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Bergvall 86) Liverpool 1
Tottenham feared it was going to be a story about a fresh take on VAR pain. There were 77 minutes on the clock, this Carabao Cup semi-final had finally started to bubble and Dominic Solanke thought he had put Spurs in front.
It was not only a fine finish from Pedro Porro’s searching through-ball but a goal of rich narrative possibility. This was a striker, remember, who had not enjoyed himself at Liverpool earlier in his career.
Enter the referee, Stuart Attwell, to explain, live and miked up, that Solanke had been offside. Attwell even blew his whistle into his microphone, which was a bit jarring. And yet there would be a twist.
A glorious one in Spurs’s eyes, one to fire the dream of a first trophy since 2008. And one to have Liverpool raging. Lucas Bergvall, the precociously talented Spurs midfielder, ought to have been sent off for cleaning out Kostas Tsimikas. He was already on a yellow card.
But now there Bergvall was, time almost up, striding on to a cutback from Solanke to lash past Alisson. The stadium descended into bedlam. For Liverpool, there were recriminations, a rare bump in the road under Arne Slot.
Ange Postecoglou is not exactly spoilt for selection choices at present; how he must envy Slot, whose strong starting XI was entirely by design. He had left a host of key players back on Merseyside for the quarter-final win at Southampton. Not here. Even his bench felt like a statement.
It was easy to feel the ghosts of Liverpool’s previous visit; the 6-3 league win before Christmas, a scoreline that flattered Spurs. Postecoglou is not one for compromise but there have been a few tweaks lately; the full-backs not bombing on so much, the midfield slightly more solid.
Postecoglou had started with Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma in front of the back four but he was forced to change in the early running. It was not immediately clear what had happened to Bentancur after Son Heung-min returned a Spurs corner into the danger area and Radu Dragusin drew a smart save out of Alisson.
Bentancur had thrown himself into a stooping header from the initial delivery and he simply did not move from the ground, players from both teams waving the medics on straight away.
Bentancur was treated for roughly eight minutes before he was taken away on a stretcher. The lack of any TV replays of the incident when it happened reinforced the severity of it; the worry levels. Spurs would report at half-time that Bentancur was conscious, talking and bound for a hospital check-up.
Postecoglou introduced Brennan Johnson on the right wing, moved Dejan Kulusevski inside and it was more like 4-3-3 with Lucas Bergvall staying high most of the time in central midfield.
The responsibility on Bissouma was huge and he played it fast and loose, picking up a first-half booking after finding himself on the wrong side of Diogo Jota.
Liverpool started slowly; there were errors from them on the ball – a high number of them. Some required double-takes. What, really? Slot’s team had to reshuffle themselves when Jarell Quansah felt something and went off just before the half-hour. On came Wataru Endo; he had played in central defence at Southampton.
Liverpool grew as a first half that featured 11 additional minutes wore on. Conor Bradley, who started ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, was a physical, driving presence. The visitors threatened to get in with overlaps up the left.
Chances were at a premium before the break. Son crossed for Dominic Solanke on 22 minutes but the centre-forward could not get the back-heel to work. Solanke might have been offside.
Liverpool’s best moment came when Kostas Tsimikas teed up Alexis Mac Allister with a cross. It was on a plate but Mac Allister headed straight at Antonin Kinsky, who had been thrust straight into the team after his arrival from Slavia Prague on Sunday.
There was almost a horror moment for Kinsky when he slipped when addressing a routine shot from Cody Gakpo before recovering just in time.
Kinsky had the gumption to make the ‘calm down’ gesture; it was all under control. What a Baptism it was for the 21-year-old, who had taken part in only two training sessions with his new team-mates. He has played in the Europa League this season. This was another level.
The tensions simmered. Postecoglou was animated in his technical area, which feels like an increasingly regular sight. He was on his knees in anguish just before the hour when Spurs blew a golden chance for the opening goal.
Alisson just about got away with a drag-back under pressure from Bergvall but not when he dithered and was robbed by the young Swede. The ball broke for Porro, whose shot was blocked by Virgil van Dijk with Alisson away from his goal. Another break, a Bergvall pass and there was Porro, gloriously placed. His chipped finish lacked conviction and drifted wide.
Slot flexed his muscles, introducing Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez in a single swoop. His team pushed. Salah flickered. He would release Núñez up the inside right; Kinsky made a big block.
There was also the moment when Alexander-Arnold unloaded a first-time shot from an angle of venomous power which flew past Kinsky. Dragusin would make an excellent clearance off the line behind him. – Guardian
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