Arne Slot tasted defeat as Liverpool head coach for only the second time as his side were beaten 1-0 by Tottenham in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
Although the Reds were nowhere near their best in north London, the nature of the match-defining moment has left a sour taste, with the scorer lucky to have been on the pitch when he struck the decisive goal.
Lucas Bergvall was already on a yellow card when he committed a foul on Kostas Tsimikas which seemed a clear bookable offence, and moments later the Spurs midfielder blasted the ball past Alisson Becker to give his team victory.
Slot and the Liverpool coaching staff were naturally furious over that moment, with his assistant Sipke Hulshoff shown a yellow card by Stuart Attwell for his vehement protests after the goal.
At full-time, BBC Sport reporter Nizaar Kinsella noticed the Reds boss making a beeline for the match officials, but the 46-year-old admirably kept his emotions in check.
The journalist observed (22:10): “Not many managers would have approached the officials in such a calm manner after the match but Arne Slot simply shook all their hands and walked off.
“For a moment, he showed his anger and earned a booking but simply shakes the hands of referee Stuart Atwell and his assistants and walks off.
“Impressive restraint from the calm Dutchman – as some of Liverpool’s players, led by Virgil van Dijk, make their complaints known about Lucas Bergvall’s controversial winner.”
Slot would’ve had every right to let rip at Attwell at the final whistle, so the Liverpool head coach deserves credit for getting his displeasure across in a calm and respectful manner.
We’d love to know the referee’s defence for not showing Bergvall a second yellow card when it seemed a clear bookable offence, but the whistler will have the luxury of being able to slink away without having to explain himself, a privilege that managers don’t have after a bad result.
We readily acknowledge that the Reds’ overall performance on the night was substandard and, even before the decisive moment, the visitors had a couple of letoffs after a rare Alisson Becker lapse and a Dominic Solanke goal which was disallowed by VAR for a marginal offside.
However, the manner in which the result was ultimately decided will understandably leave Liverpool fans fuming. Not for the first time, a visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ends with serious questions for the officials to answer.
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