Liverpool were left incensed following their 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in their English League Cup semifinal, first leg, because they believed Swedish teenager Lucas Bergvall should not have been on the pitch when he netted his 86th minute winner.

The 18-year-old had already been booked earlier in the game before he clattered into Liverpool defender Konstantinos Tsimikas.

The Reds believe that should have been a second yellow card, and to make matters worse, while Tsimikas was off the field and receiving treatment, Tottenham scored their winner against the visitors’ 10 men.

“I think it was quite obvious it was going to be a second yellow (for Bergvall),” Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk said. “I think it was pretty clear. It was a coincidence and a minute later he scores the winner. It is what it is. The referee (Stuart Atwell) made a mistake in my opinion and I told him that.

“Everyone on the sidelines knew it was supposed to be a yellow. There’s a linesman there, a fourth official there, there’s VAR, a referee and he doesn’t get a second yellow.

“I’m not saying this is the reason why we lost tonight but it was a big moment in the game.”

The defeat ended a 24-game unbeaten run for Liverpool, and was just a second for the team since manager Arne Slot took over the side at the start of the season.

“The decision he made had a lot of impact on the result tonight. There’s not a lot I can say from that,” Slot said of Attwell. “The fourth official told me why he thought it wasn’t a second yellow and he heard that probably from the referee.

“I never like to lose but if you have to lose it’s better to lose when you still have the second leg to come.”