Thursday’s briefing: Spurs claim controversial win as West Ham look to new era
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Tottenham beat Liverpool 1-0 at home in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final thanks to a late goal from Lucas Bergvall – who was possibly fortunate to be on the pitch at the time. West Ham sacked head coach Julen Lopetegui, with Graham Potter looking set to be announced as his replacement, and Celtic increased their lead at the top of the William Hill Premiership to 16 points with a 2-0 home win over Dundee United.
Swedish 18-year-old Bergvall struck the only goal of the contest, his first as a Spurs player, in the 86th minute at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, moments after avoiding a second booking for a challenge on Kostas Tsimikas. Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk expressed his frustration at that decision afterwards, telling Sky Sports: “He (referee Stuart Attwell) made a mistake in my opinion and I told him that. It was a big moment in the game.”.
Earlier, there was concern for Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur after he was left on the ground having stooped low to head a corner in the seventh minute and received medical attention for nine minutes before leaving the field on a stretcher. Boss Ange Postecoglu said in his post-match Sky interview that “my understanding is he is conscious”, adding: “We took him to hospital just to get checked over. Worrying and always a concern but from what I know at this stage he’ll hopefully be OK.”.
