Virgil van Dijk reveals what he told referee about Lucas Bergvall's controversial winner during Spurs vs Liverpool

Virgil van Dijk has revealed exactly what he said to referee Stuart Atwell about Tottenham's Lucas Bergvall scored a controversial winner in the Carabao Cup

On Wednesday night, Tottenham Hotspur welcomed Premier League leaders Liverpool to London for the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash.

Despite entering the match as favourites, Liverpool lost the match 1-0 as Tottenham youngster Bergvall sealed the victory for the hosts with a controversial goal in the 86th minute of the match.

After the match, Liverpool captain Van Dijk was spotted speaking to referee Atwell about the moment and he has now revealed exactly what was said.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, the Dutchman admitted that he believed that Bergvall should have been shown a second yellow card for a clumsy tackle on Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas just moments before scoring his first goal for Tottenham.

“Listen, it was quite obvious that it was going to be a second yellow. Obviously, I think it was pretty clear and it was a coincidence that a minute later he scores the winner," said Van Dijk.

"But it is what it is. He [Atwell] made a mistake in my opinion and I told him, he thinks he didn’t, but it's quite obvious and everyone on the sideline knew exactly that i was supposed to be a second yellow.

"The fact is, he should have been off. There's a linesman there, there's a fourth official there, there's VAR, there's the referee and he doesn't get a second yellow

"I'm not saying that this is the reason why we lost tonight, but it was a big moment in the game."

Van Dijk's opinion was shared by Liverpool manager Arne Slot, who remained level-headed as he stated that Bergvall should have been sent off for the tackle on Tsimikas.

Liverpool were outraged that Lucas Bergvall wasn't shown a second yellow card for a challenge on Kostas Tsimikas. (Image: Getty)

"Yeah, no debate about that, it should have been a second yellow for Bergvall," said the Dutch manager in his post-match press conference.

"On Sunday a decision went against Spurs, today it went for them. Unlucky for us."

The result ends Liverpool's unbeaten run of 24 matches and marks only the second loss since Slot replaced legendary manager Jurgen Klopp last summer.

But the Reds will have the chance to overturn the result when Tottenham travel to Anfield for the second leg of the tie next month.