LUCAS BERGVALL STRUCK an 86th-minute winner to earn Tottenham a 1-0 victory over Liverpool and a slender advantage after a cagey Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.
Spurs were without 10 players for this tie and had lost 6-3 to Arne Slot’s irresistible Premier League leaders last month, but turned the form table on its head – albeit with a touch of fortune.
Match-winner Bergvall was lucky to avoid a second yellow card for a late tackle on Kostas Tsimikas moments before he fired home his first goal for the club to earn Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou a much-needed win.
Postecoglou had faced external pressure after a nightmare run of form amid a horror injury crisis, which deepened with Rodrigo Bentancur forced off early amid worrying scenes, but his injury-hit team with debutant goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky managed to shut out Liverpool to head to Anfield next month with a narrow lead.
Liverpool put six past Spurs in the Premier League last month, but the hosts had a new goalkeeper this time after Postecoglou decided to hand Kinsky his debut three days on from his arrival.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was dropped to the bench and yet only six minutes were on the clock when a lengthy stoppage occurred due to a head injury for Bentancur.
Bentancur was taken off on a stretcher in the 15th minute after he appeared to head the floor from a corner – with Radu Dragusin denied by Alisson Becker moments later.
Spurs later confirmed Bentancur was conscious and talking and would go to hospital for further checks.
The stop-start nature of the tie continued with young Liverpool centre-back Jarell Quansah forced off not long after Mohamed Salah had curled wide from outside the penalty area.
Kinsky made his first save after 33 minutes but it was a routine stop from Alexis Mac Allister’s header before Liverpool upped the ante in first-half stoppage time.
Salah chipped over after a fine run by Cody Gakpo, who almost surprised Kinsky soon after with a long-range shot before the Dutch forward curled off target as it remained goalless at the break.
Clear-cut opportunities had been few and far between until the 56th minute when Spurs should have taken the lead.
Bergvall brilliantly slide in on Alisson to win possession inside Liverpool’s penalty area and Pedro Porro was played in, but chipped wide much to Postecoglou’s frustration.
Slot made a triple substitution on the hour mark with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez introduced, but Salah was kept on the pitch.
The Egyptian almost helped create the breakthrough with 21 minutes left when he played through Nunez only for Kinsky to stand up well to block the shot.
Alexander-Arnold did manage to beat Kinsky from a tight angle moments later but Dragusin got back to clear off the line before Mac Allister dragged his follow-up wide.
Postecoglou had seen enough and replaced captain Son Heung-min with Werner, who immediately raced past Alexander-Arnold but sent his effort into the side-netting.
It lifted the home team and Tottenham thought they had taken the lead in the 76th-minute when Solanke latched on to Porro’s perfectly weighted pass and rolled past Alisson.
VAR was required and Solanke’s effort was eventually ruled out for offside, which referee Stuart Attwell announced to the whole stadium in a first for English football.
Attwell had another decision to make when Bergvall caught Tsimikas late, but the already booked Swedish midfielder avoided a sending-off and made his second life count with four minutes left.
Solanke impressively held off Ibrahima Konate and teed up Bergvall to drill into the bottom corner from 12 yards to spark big celebrations.
Seven minutes were added on and Tottenham needed debutant Kinsky to produce an outstanding full-stretch save to thwart Nunez to ensure they head to Anfield with a one-goal advantage.
Written by Press Association and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else.
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