Spurs young guns deliver for Postecoglou
Tottenham 1-0 Liverpool
Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou showed faith in his youthful stars in the hothouse of an EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool, and was fully vindicated as they delivered in style.
Bergvall was the name on everyone's lips at the final whistle, not just because the 18-year-old Swede played with great maturity in midfield, but because Liverpool will feel he should have been shown a second yellow card, with the video assistant referee (VAR) unable to intervene once play was allowed to carry on after his reckless tackle on Tsimikas by referee Attwell.
In the wider context, however, Bergvall has shown amid Spurs' struggles exactly why they were so keen to acquire his services in the summer, the £8.5m paid to Djurgarden already looking like a bargain.
And sharing top billing was 21-year-old goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, barely through the door after a £12.5m move from Slavia Prague but thrown straight into this crucial game by Postecoglou.
He showed great confidence with the ball at his feet and when commanding his area, his biggest contribution coming late on when he reacted superbly to turn away Darwin Nunez's header.
Spurs have a slender advantage to take to Anfield, but they will be well satisfied with that, having been thrashed 6-3 at home by Liverpool recently in the Premier League.
'All good guys' - Bentancur update
Tottenham Hotspur
Rodrigo Bentancur was taken off on a stretcher just six minutes into Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool, after he fell while unchallenged as he stretched to head a ball from a corner.
The 27-year-old Uruguay international was treated on the pitch for around nine minutes and received oxygen before he was replaced by forward Brennan Johnson.
It was later confirmed he was conscious and talking and was taken to hospital for further checks.
Bentancur took to Instagram in the early hours of this morning to write 'all good, guys!', and thank fans for their messages.
Spurs edge out Liverpool
Tottenham 1-0 Liverpool
It may only be a narrow advantage but Tottenham head to Anfield next month with a one goal buffer, thanks to 18-year-old Lucas Bergvall's second-half winner.
The question as to whether the Sweden midfielder should even have been on the pitch, however, is something we'll discuss in detail.
Pedro Porro missed a great chance to put Spurs ahead after a mistake by Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson which left boss Ange Postecoglou to drop to his knees on the touchline in disbelief. Dominic Solanke also saw a goal ruled out for offside.
Liverpool were far from their best, with the word 'leggy' most commonly used to describe Arne Slot's side performance last night.
One of the Reds' best chances fell to substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold but his fizzing shot was cleared off the line by Radu Dragusin.
Good morning
Hello, folks. It's cold, it's dark and it's January. Go careful wherever you're heading today.
If you're a Tottenham fan, you'll be happy this morning. If you're a Liverpool, maybe not so much. First legs of the Carabao Cup semi-finals are done and last night's game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium had plenty of talking points for us to go over.
There's also new manager in town - one we already know well. Graham Potter has agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal with West Ham and will be unveiled at a news conference today. We'll bring you what he has to say later on.
And it's the third round of the FA Cup weekend. I say weekend, the action starts tonight and then carries on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.