Tottenham beat Liverpool 1-0 in the semi-finals of the FA Cup after a serious injury and referee’s call at the stadium

Lucas Bergvall’s first goal for Tottenham secured a 1-0 win over Liverpool in the semi-finals of the English League Cup on Wednesday in a first leg notable for a serious looking injury to Rodrigo Bentancur and that first announcement at the stadium of a referee in the English game.

18-year-old Bergvall slotted home the winner in the 86th minute from a pass from Dominic Solanke, who 10 minutes earlier thought he had given Tottenham the lead. That goal was disallowed after a VAR check for offside, and referee Stuart Attwell communicated the decision via a wireless microphone to spectators inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and to television viewers.

In the sixth minute, Bentancur – the Uruguay midfielder who plays for Tottenham – fell to the ground and lay prone after landing awkwardly as he attempted a header from a corner. He was carried off on a stretcher to applause from the ground after receiving treatment during a 10-minute delay, and Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed after the match that Bentancur was “conscious” and talking.

The second leg is at Anfield on February 6.

Newcastle lead Arsenal 2-0 after the first leg of the second semi-final.

Liverpool, the defending League Cup champions, saw their 24-match unbeaten run in all competitions come to an end and there was a hint of controversy in just the team’s second loss of the season.

Visiting players and manager Arne Slot were unhappy that Bergvall was on the pitch to score what proved to be the winning goal after he missed a second yellow card for a foul on Kostas Tsimika moments earlier. Tsimikas was actually off the pitch waiting to come back on after receiving treatment following Bergvall’s tackle when the Swedish midfielder tucked home his finish.

Slot himself received a yellow card for his protests, although he shook Attwell’s hand after the final whistle.

“The decision he made had a big impact on the result tonight,” Slot said.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said it was “pretty obvious” Bergvall deserved a second yellow card.

“And a minute later he scores the winner,” Van Dijk said. “He (Attwell) made a mistake, in my opinion. And I told him so.”

It was a busy end to the game for Attwell, who took center stage after there was a video review following Solanke’s strike in the 76th minute. After being told Solanke was offside, Attwell used the public address system to declare the goal ruled out in an NFL-style announcement.

The League Cup semi-finals were chosen to pilot a process in England that has been widely used in other sports and in football at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and other FIFA events.

Kinsky’s dream debut

Three days after signing from Sparta Prague, Antonín Kinský – a 21-year-old goalkeeper from the Czech Republic – was handed his Tottenham debut and kept a clean sheet after producing a number of fine saves, notably from Liverpool substitute Darwin Nunez.

His parents and sister were in the crowd to watch him play his first game in English football and he was emotional after the game.

“I never dreamed of this,” Kinský said.

Tottenham signed the highly-rated Kinský with first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario currently out injured.

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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

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