Lucas Bergvall scored his first goal for Tottenham Hotspur to give his side a 1-0 victory over holders Liverpool in the first leg of their League Cup semifinal on Wednesday.
The 18-year-old Swede rifled a superb finish past Liverpool keeper Alisson in the 86th minute to reward the injury-hit hosts who shortly before had seen a Dominic Solanke goal ruled out.
Liverpool, who beat Chelsea to win the competition for a 10th time last season, were nowhere near their best and could have few complaints as their 24-match unbeaten run in all competitions came to an end.
Arne Slot’s side suffered only their second loss of the season but will still feel confident of turning around the tie in the second leg at Anfield next month.
Newcastle United beat Arsenal 2-0 away in the first leg of the other semifinal on Tuesday.
Tottenham had enjoyed only three wins in their past 14 games in all competitions with injuries decimating Ange Postecoglou’s squad and when midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was taken off on a stretcher after a worrying fall early on, the omens looked poor for the hosts who gave a debut to new keeper Antonin Kinsky.
Liverpool won 6-3 at Tottenham in the Premier League before Christmas, but they looked lethargic for long periods on Wednesday despite finishing both halves strongly.
It was sweet revenge for Tottenham for whom Bergvall showed why he is rated so highly.
Postecoglou claimed earlier this season that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club but recent results have heaped pressure on the Australian.
The fans were singing his name at the end though as a first trophy since the 2008 League Cup moved a little closer.
Tottenham had the better chances in the first half with Radu Dragusin having an early effort saved by Alisson and Solanke bundling a Son Heung-min cross wide either side of the lengthy stoppage for Bentancur’s injury.
Mohamed Salah, unusually quiet, fired one effort wide for Liverpool while Kinsky had a moment of alarm when a shot by Cody Gakpo almost squirmed under his body.
Alisson almost gifted Tottenham the lead shortly after the halftime, dallying on the ball and being dispossessed by Bergvall who prodded the ball back to Pedro Porro whose first shot was blocked by Virgil van Dijk while his follow-up attempt was clipped wide of a gaping goal, much to the frustration of Postecoglou who fell to his knees in the technical area.
Liverpool almost took the lead when Trent Alexander-Arnold, on as a substitute, had a shot cleared off the line by Dragusin.
Tottenham dug deep though and Solanke was denied by a VAR offside decision in which Stuart Attwell became the first referee to announce it directly to the crowd.
The hosts would not be denied though and Bergvall sent the home fans into raptures after great work by Solanke.
