Liverpool’s captain, Virgil van Dijk, has spoken out about the controversial incident involving Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall, who scored a disputed winner in their Carabao Cup semi-final clash.
On Wednesday night, Tottenham hosted Liverpool for the first leg of their semi-final. Despite being the favourites, Liverpool lost 1-0 after Bergvall netted a contentious goal in the 86th minute.
Following the match, van Dijk was seen discussing the incident with referee Stuart Atwell. He has since revealed what was said, admitting that he believed Bergvall should have received a second yellow card for a reckless tackle on Kostas Tsimikas just before scoring.
“It was pretty clear that it should have been a second yellow,” van Dijk told Sky Sports. “It was a coincidence that a minute later he scored the winner. It was a mistake by the referee in my opinion. He thinks otherwise, but it was obvious, and everyone on the sideline saw it was a second yellow.”
He continued, pointing out that multiple officials, including the linesman, fourth official, and VAR, missed the call. “He should have been sent off,” van Dijk added. “I’m not saying it cost us the game, but it was a key moment.”
Liverpool manager Arne Slot echoed his captain’s sentiments, agreeing that Bergvall should have been sent off. “No debate, it should have been a second yellow,” Slot said in his post-match press conference. “On Sunday, Spurs had a decision go against them, today it went in their favour. Unlucky for us.”
The defeat ended Liverpool’s 24-match unbeaten streak and was only their second loss since Slot took over from Jurgen Klopp last summer. However, Liverpool will have a chance to recover when the second leg takes place at Anfield next month.
