Bentancur ‘conscious’, taken to hospital after Tottenham-Liverpool match

LONDON, England:

Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was 'conscious' after being carried off on a stretcher in the 14th minute of a match against Liverpool in the English League Cup semi-finals yesterday after falling to the ground at a corner.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou provided the update on the the Uruguay international after Tottenham's 1-0 victory.

Medical staff immediately ran onto the field as Bentancur lay face down on the turf, with players from both teams looking concerned.

In the sixth minute, Bentancur -- the Uruguay midfielder -- fell to the ground and lay prone after landing awkwardly when attempting a header from a corner. He was carried off on a stretcher, to applause from around the ground, after receiving treatment during a 10-minute delay.

Fans applauded as he was carried off the field. The score was 0-0 at the time in the first-leg match.

Lucas Bergvall's first goal for Tottenham secured a 1-0 win. The 18-year-old Bergvall slotted home the winner in the 86th minute following a pass from Dominic Solanke, who thought 10 minutes earlier that he had given Tottenham the lead. That goal was ruled out after a VAR check for offside and referee Stuart Attwell communicated the decision via a wireless microphone to spectators inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and to TV viewers.

After the game, Postecoglou was asked about Bentancur's health and said: "Obviously I don't have all the information but from where I'm standing, he is conscious. He was conscious going off to the dressing rooms."

Postecoglou said Bentancur would be going to the hospital "to get checked over".

The second leg is at Anfield on February 6.

Newcastle lead Arsenal 2-0 after the first leg of the other semi-final match on Tuesday.

Liverpool, the defending League Cup champions, saw their 24-match unbeaten run in all competitions come to an end and there was a hint of controversy about only the team's second loss of the season.

Visiting players and manager Arne Slot were unhappy that Bergvall was on the field to score what proved to be the winning goal after he escaped collecting a second yellow card for a foul on Kostas Tsimikas moments earlier.

Indeed, Tsimikas was off the field, waiting to come back on having received treatment following Bergvall's tackle, when the Sweden midfielder tucked home his finish.

Slot earned a yellow card himself for his protests, though he shook Attwell's hand after the final whistle.

"The decision he made had a lot of impact on the result tonight," Slot said.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said it was "quite obvious" that Bergvall deserved a second yellow card.

"And a minute later he scores the winner," Van Dijk said. "He (Attwell) made a mistake, in my opinion. And I told him that."

- AP