Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk criticized the match officials after Lucas Bergvall’s late goal secured a 1-0 win for Tottenham in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Bergvall had earlier escaped a second yellow card for a tackle on Kostas Tsimikas before scoring his first goal for Tottenham. The incident, which led to Bergvall’s winning strike, left Van Dijk furious.
“I think it was quite obvious it should have been a second yellow,” said Van Dijk. “It was clear. It was a coincidence that he scored the winner just a minute later. I told the referee he made a mistake. He doesn’t think so, but it was obvious.”
Van Dijk also pointed out the number of officials involved. “There’s a linesman, a fourth official, VAR, and the referee, but he still didn’t get a second yellow. I’m not saying this cost us the game, but it was a big moment,” he added.
Despite the frustration, Van Dijk emphasized Liverpool’s effort. “At times, we could have done better,” he said. “We created chances, but Tottenham defended better than when we played them a couple of weeks ago. We’ll move on. It’s half-time, and we still have 90 minutes to play.”
Liverpool manager Arne Slot echoed his captain’s sentiments. “The decision had a big impact on the result,” Slot said. “The fourth official explained why he didn’t give the second yellow. He said the counter-attack wasn’t stopped, but every manager would prefer the second yellow to a free kick.”
Slot remained optimistic about the second leg, set to be played at Anfield next month. “We’re still aiming for a place in the final at Wembley,” he said. “I liked our performance today better than Sunday’s, though it was a different kind of game.”
He continued, “Two weeks ago, we played one of our best games against Tottenham, and today we did enough to get a result. Losing doesn’t feel deserved, but we have the second leg at Anfield with 60,000 fans behind us, and we still have a chance.”
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