for once.
Spurs hold a half time lead in the League Cup semi-final, after the first leg ended in a “controversial” one nil victory over Liverpool in their home game.
Well, that was an insipid game brightened up by a couple of moments when things actually went Spurs’ way.
It looked like the best time to face Liverpool, they’d just come off their worst performance of the season and all teams, no matter how good, have a blip at some point, the fact they followed up that game with what is now their worst performance of the season, suggest this is it for the current league leaders.
The problem for Spurs is that the second leg is a month away and while Spurs might have more new additions and returning players from injury, Liverpool might have gotten over this blip.
It was another first half when Spurs’ front players registered amongst the fewest touches. Johnson had an excuse, coming on after 15 minutes, after Bentancur strangely went down and had to be stretchered off after over 10 minutes – looks like in an attempt to stoop and head the ball the ground twisted his neck, he did go off in a neck brace. The only player to have fewer touches than that trio was Salah. Kept quiet by some poor Liverpool passing and more examples of why Ange ignoring Spence was such a mistake.
Both teams were poor in possession but they looked the more likely to do something. But Spurs had some bright points. As said Spence showed his worth, while Bergvall and Gray look the part already. The former is really growing as he’s playing more, while the former Leeds man has slotted in so well, out of position. Imagine if they were both in that midfield.
While between the posts was new boy Antonín Kinsky. You have to feel sorry for Brandon Austin, he finally gets a game for the club after 9 years, after weeks of sitting on the bench watching the lumbering Mummy, Forster. Puts in a pretty damn good display and days later he’s sat back on the bench watching a signing who only arrived only a few days earlier. But Kinsky looks the part. Looks very comfortable with the ball at his feet. Commanding of his area and an excellent shot stopper, from this one performance.
Yup, it was a game going nowhere, not particularly fast. It wasn’t until into the second half when there was some life. Life from a dreadful miss by Porro after some great work by Bergvall to put the Liverpool keeper under pressure. Porro’s first attempt was weak and easily blocked, his second was worse as he fired a chip past the post.
Liverpool had made a number of changes, while Ange just stood there, when Bergvall went in with a challenge on Diaz which saw the South America put in a few rolls, after not being touched. Of course the Swede saw a yellow card. With Spurs looking leggy, Liverpool were on top. They did get the ball past Kinsky once, but luckily Dragusin was on the line to stop the goal. Not long after and Spurs had the ball in the back of the net.
Lovely ball by Porro curling round the back of the Liverpool defence and Solanke was on to it. The ball was bobbling around his feet, never looked like being under control but he put it past the keeper. Only for VAR to zoom in like they’ve never zoomed in before. And a blurred image, so blurred you couldn’t tell who the Liverpool player was, from an odd angle, off the straight proved that Solanke was a nose hair offside.
Then controversy. As the pundits were all trying to get Bergvall sent off for a second yellow, for what was a foul, only Ange knew. None of the pundits did. Only Ange…
If the referee plays the advantage for an offence for which a caution/sending-off would have been issued had play been stopped, this caution/sending-off must be issued when the ball is next out of play.
However, if the offence was denying the opposing team an obvious goalscoring opportunity, the player is cautioned for unsporting behaviour; if the offence was interfering with or stopping a promising attack, the player is not cautionedInternational Football Association Board’s Laws of the Games
Play went on, and that final line is the only relevant one for this situation. So Bergvall shouldn’t have been booked. Makes a change Ange getting something so right. Of course he blotted his copybook by bringing Werner on.
Just minutes later it was even better. Spurs don’t get this, they get it going against them but they never get the right decisions that turn out to have a major impact on the game. The fact that it was the young Swede that went on to score the winner is strange days stuff. A long ball and Solanke fought for it, inside the Liverpool box before squaring it to the onrushing Bergvall to slam it inside the near post.
There was just more time for Kinsky to put in another good save.
The scouse were moaning and wasn’t it grand. Van Dijk, is there a bigger moaner in English football, he make Man U’s Fernandes look like an amateur.
But as I said, it’s half-time and will Liverpool be as bad in the second half or by February 6th will they have got themselves out of this blip? Of course there is the chance that the officials will want to make up for this perceived injustice to Liverpool…