Lucas Bergvall scored late as Tottenham Hotspur pipped holders Liverpool 1-0 in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final clash on Wednesday, Afrosport reports.
The 18-year-old Swede, in the 86th minute, finished emphatically past goalkeeper Alisson into the bottom corner after he was teed up by Dominic Solanke in the Liverpool area for his first Spurs goal.
Victory in the first leg! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ktX5W2OTjA
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 8, 2025
Tottenham looked the hungrier side from the blast of the whistle but were unfortunately forced into an early change as Rodrigo Bentacur was stretchered off after having fallen unchallenged while attempting to head the ball from a corner.
The Uruguayan international, who was attended to by the medical team for about nine minutes, was replaced by Brennan Johnson, adding to Spurs’ injury woes.
Solanke, however, came really close to opening the scoring in the first half, but his improvised effort from a Heung-Min Son low cross was saved by Alisson.
Tottenham were unlucky not to find the back of the net in the restart as Alisson, who was almost caught on the ball by Bergvall, gave it away on the edge of his own box, but Spaniard Pedro Porro was unable to capitalise on the gift despite being afforded two attempts.
Darwin Nunez came close for Liverpool, but his effort was well dealt with by new Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky. The Czech, however, was beaten minutes later by substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold, but the latter’s effort was cleared off the line bravely by Radu Dragusin.
Solanke thought he had broken the deadlock for the hosts, but his effort was ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
They would not be denied a second time as Bergvall, who could have been sent off moments earlier for a second bookable offense, found the back of the net from a cutback from Solanke, who had overpowered Ibrahima Konate.
The result marked Tottenham’s first win in five games in all competitions, and they will head to Anfield on 6 February with a first-leg advantage.
Liverpool, on the other hand, lost for the second time this season, and their 24-match unbeaten run in all competitions came to an end.
