LUCING UP FOR ANGE

Under-fire Postecoglou in driving seat for Wembley glory after brilliant Bergvall rocks Slot’s high-fliers

- BY JOHN CROSS

IT was hard to believe these two teams played out a nine-goal thriller just before Christmas.

And yet the same fixture went from feast to famine as Tottenham turned a 6-3 defeat last month into a 1-0 victory in the first leg of this Carabao Cup semi-final.

Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall was the late hero with an 86th-minute winner to give manager Ange Postecoglou's men a narrow lead for the return leg at Anfield next month.

But it also left Liverpool furious as Bergvall was lucky to still be on the pitch. After picking up an early yellow card, he escaped a second for a foul on Kostas Tsimikas, and was then on the pitch to rub salt into Kop wounds.

It was a rare off-night for Liverpool, who were uncharacteristically sloppy.

Tottenham probably deserved the win as they had good chances, with Pedro Porro missing an absolute sitter. It was such a glaring miss that Postecoglou (left) sank to his knees in despair.

But, by the end, Tottenham's fans were singing about going to Wembley and dreaming of a first trophy since 2008.