Tottenham vs Liverpool LIVE: Carabao Cup result and reaction as Lucas Bergvall scores late winner
Tottenham 1-0 Liverpool: Bergvall’s late goal ensures Spurs take a lead into the second leg at Anfield.
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Your support makes all the difference.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.
Relive the Carabao Cup action with our live blog below:
Liverpool team to take on Spurs tonight
Liverpool XI: Alisson; Bradley, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Jota, Gakpo
Tottenham line-up to face Liverpool
Tottenham XI: Kinsky; Pedro Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence; Bissouma, Bentancur, Bergvall; Kulusevski, Solanke, Son
Son Heung Min to stay at Tottenham as club confirm contract extension
Son Heung Min is set to stay at Tottenham beyond this season after the club triggered an extension option in his contract.
The South Korean’s deal was due to expire at the end of this campaign after a decade at the north London club.
But Spurs have activated an extension to their captain’s deal, keeping him under contract until the conclusion of the 2025/26 season and ensuring that he can not depart on a free transfer this summer.
Son Heung Min to stay at Tottenham as club confirm contract extension
The South Korean forward has been at the club for nearly a decade and is set to stay
Postecoglou on Liverpool
Ange Postecoglou spoke about what he is expecting from tonight’s game and how Liverpool will play. The Spurs boss said: “We’ve got an opponent who has been the standout team so far this year in all competitions.
“They are a top side. They’re really settled, I think they have got just about everyone fit and healthy. They can rotate players so they’re in a good moment and it will be a great challenge for us.”
Will Liverpool strengthen in January?
“It would be a bit weird if I said during the summer break that we are very happy with the team then I would tell you something completely different now.” said Arne Slot when asked if he wanted to make some signings in the January transfer window.
He continued: “But you always look at the market, this club has always looked at the market. I think we did this with the goalkeeper we don’t even have at the moment [Giorgi Mamardashvili]; if there is a chance in the market this club always tries to bring that chance in. But the team is in a good place.
“Unfortunately, Joe Gomez is injured [and] that means we go from four centre-backs back to three, but he will be back in a few weeks so [I am] very happy with the team and I think they deserved that trust from the club and from me if you look at the performances they have brought in over the last half-season.”
Slot on Alexander-Arnold’s performance vs Man Utd
Liverpool’s last outing was a 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Anfield. The game was a thrilling affair but Trent Alexander-Arnold had a poor outing compared to his usual high standards.
The Liverpool manager addressed whether he had any concerns over the right-back and he replied: “I think we were all disappointed – not only Trent, we were all disappointed – by the way we played [against Manchester United on Sunday].
“First of all, about the result. Parts of the game we could be quite satisfied with, other parts of our game we weren’t completely happy with. That was not only Trent, there were more things in the game that we could have done better.
“Trent didn’t play his best game, I’ve said it already, but that’s not for the first time in his life he didn’t play the best game of his career. He has played so, so, so many games well for this club.
“Now it wasn’t his best – like for some others, it wasn’t the best game for some others as well.”
The ‘special’ sign Liverpool can go far in unthinkable quest for quadruple
Arne Slot did not use the word, though Jurgen Klopp became quite familiar with it. In two of the German’s last three campaigns, Liverpool challenged for the quadruple. Last season, their bid for glory on four fronts lasted until the end of March, until they were knocked out of the FA Cup after an epic comeback from bitter rivals Manchester United.
Two years earlier, they came closer than anyone arguably ever has, reaching the penultimate game of the campaign with a chance of four trophies. They ended 2021-22, however, without the two biggest prizes: runners-up in the Premier League, they became beaten finalists in the Champions League.
The ‘special’ sign Liverpool can go far in unthinkable quest for quadruple
The Reds face Spurs in the Carabao Cup semi-finals in the latest stop en route to a potential, yet unlikely, quadruple under Arne Slot
Postecoglou provides latest injury update
Tottenham are still without a number of key players in their squad and Ange Postecoglou was asked if he had any positive news to share about those out with injuries.
The Australian replied: “It depends, net wise we are still down. We will get Bentancur back, but we lose Maddison and Pape Sarr by suspension, so couple of numbers down there.
“In terms of the injuries, no-one is back. Mikey (Moore) could potentially be available to be on the bench. Everyone else from the weekend certainly feels better, Radu (Dragusin) has recovered, Archie (Gray) is better. They were the main ones.
“Deki (Kulusevski) was under the weather, but he’s good. So, pretty much as it was on the weekend, plus Bentancur, minus the other two.”
Postecoglou on whether cup games provide relief from poor league form
Ange Postecoglou admitted that Tottenham’s form in the Premier League was awful and says he is looking forward to an exciting match in a different competition tonight.
Speaking ahead of the game the Tottenham manager said: “Our league results have been poor, there is no hiding from that. It is a separate competition. We have done well to get to the semi-final stage.
“We’ve beaten both Manchester clubs to do that. It hasn’t been an easy road to the semi-finals. We’ve got an opponent that has been the standout team in all competitions. So it is a great test for us, but it is a semi-final first leg and should be exciting. I am looking forward to it.
“That’s the case, irrespective of how you play. There is a second leg to be played. That doesn’t change our approach. We’re at home and in a two-legged affair, if you can get some kind of advantage in your home game, you are set up pretty well, so that’s what we will try to do.”
Pre-match thoughts from Arne Slot
The Liverpool boss spoke about what he is expecting from tonight’s match especially after watching his team defeat Spurs 6-3 in the Premier League a few weeks ago.
Slot said: “I think what we expect before we go into the game is that two teams have such a clear identity and playing style, that is I think what most people expect to see again as well.
“They have their identity, we have our own identity, and both teams trying to force that identity towards the other. Large parts of the away game two weeks ago, we could show our identity.
“But there were definitely also parts in the game where they showed how good of a team they are. Scoring three goals against us is also an accomplishment. I know we scored six in the game as well but scoring three against us, not many teams have done [that] until now.”
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