Tottenham will capitalize on Anfield's one-goal advantage in the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final after narrowly beating the Premier League leaders in north London on Wednesday.
18-year-old Lukas Bergvall scored four minutes from time to make the difference in a thrilling encounter at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
But the match was marred by what appeared to be a very serious injury to Rodrigo Bentancur in the first half, which resulted in the midfielder being taken to hospital.
Tottenham had never been drawn to a goalless draw during Ange Postecoglou's tenure and it looked like the game was going that way before Bergvall scored to inflict Arne Slott's side to a second defeat of the season.
For Tottenham, it was the first win since beating Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the English Premier League.
Win the first leg! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ktX5W2OTjA
– Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 8, 2025
Before the match, Postecoglou pointed to his side's long list of absentees as a factor in the decline in results in recent weeks, going so far as to say that Salah will struggle to be prolific in such an injury-hit squad.
Tottenham suffered another blow when the returning Bentancur was taken off the field after just six minutes and taken to hospital for treatment. .
Despite the change and subsequent long delay, it was Postecoglou's side who started the better. Meanwhile, the league leaders have been sloppy in possession.
Alisson had to be alert to keep out Radu Draguin's early shot, while Dominic Solanke headed Son Heung-min's cross wide.
Liverpool were also forced to make a substitution in the first half after Jarrell Quansah and Wataru Endo came off.
The Reds then had two chances towards the end of the first half, thanks to Salah and Cody Jacobo, but neither bothered Spurs new boy Antonin Kinksi.
“It's a great time to score your first goal for the club!” 🎙
Lukas Bergvall puts Tottenham ahead in the 85th minute of the first leg! 💥 pic.twitter.com/NxZxPt9vLH
– Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 8, 2025
After the break, Liverpool goalkeeper Bergvall fired the ball into the middle of the pitch when Alisson nearly stole the ball while trying to play out from the back.
The Brazilian evaded the first challenge but Bergvall came back to strike again, forcing the ball into the path of Pedro Porro, who blocked his first shot but then missed the follow-up.
Kinski was called back into action when he saved from substitute Darwin Nunez. Dragusin then made a goal-line clearance from Trent Alexander-Arnold — another of Slot's subs — as the game began to open up.
With less than 15 minutes remaining, Spurs thought they had taken the lead when Boro's pass found Solanke who raced wide of the Reds defence.
But the former Liverpool player was ruled to be offside by VAR.
Ten minutes later, the hosts scored an important goal. From another Boro pass, Solanke beat Ibrahima Konate before passing the ball to Bergvall, who finished well from inside the penalty area to score his first goal for Tottenham.
The visitors were frustrated as Bergvall was on the pitch to score after avoiding a second yellow card for a foul on Konstantinos Tsimikas shortly before the goal.
In the end, the Swede's goal proved enough to give Tottenham a slender lead heading into the second leg at Anfield on 6 February.
