Tottenham Hotspur certainly gave a much better account of themselves in their 1-0 victory against Liverpool in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
Ange Postecoglou packed out his Tottenham midfield and it stifled a lot of Liverpool’s threat, something the home side were unable to do during Arne Slot’s last visit to N17.
Liverpool were arguably limited to the least amount of chances they’ve had in any game this season, something that should give confidence to Spurs were then eventually meet again.
Of course, new signing Antonin Kinsky deserves credit, his ability with the ball at his feet was instantly a harmonious fit with Postecoglou’s philosophy.
Kinsky’s passing range was night and day when compared to Fraser Forster, and he even looked more effective in that capacity than Guglielmo Vicario in truth.
Lucas Bergvall delivers crucial winning goal against Liverpool
However, it was Lucas Bergvall who stood out most for Tottenham, a £9m signing who has made a remarkably quick step up from Swedish football.
Just over six months ago, Bergvall was still playing in the Allsvenskan, now he’s starring and winning games against Liverpool in a semi-final, an incredible young talent.
Bergvall was guilty of one or two poorly timed challenges in the second half – he was very fortunate not to receive a second yellow.
But with a reprieve from Stuart Atwell, Bergvall then took full advantage and timed his run perfectly to meet Dominic Solanke’s excellent assist – a moment that will live long in the memory of the youngster.
Of course, it has to be pointed out that Bergvall’s job was made even harder in the middle once Rodrigo Bentancur needed to leave the field with a serious issue – a situation the young midfielder handled very well.
Lucas Bergvall can save Tottenham important funds in January
There is of course going to be a huge debate about the decision not to hand Bergvall a second yellow, but that’s not one that will concern Spurs fans.
And whilst the second leg won’t come until February, Postecoglou may even already be thinking about how he plans to mastermind a result at Anfield.
What is clear, Bergvall needs to feature on a regular basis for Spurs now.
The Sweden international has seen an increase in minutes, but there’s arguably no need to hold the all-action midfielder back any longer.
Tottenham have been offered an Italian international to bolster their midfield this month, but it seems like Bergvall may negate the need to bring any more fresh faces to the department for now.
