Liverpool were beaten 1-0 by Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal in a game of football that generated a few talking points on refereeing decisions.
The Reds fielded a fairly strong side against an injury-laden Tottenham team, although they failed to make it count away from home.
Lucas Bergvall scored the solitary goal of the game and the Swede took centre stage as there were shouts that he should have been red-carded before his goal.
And now, Luis Garcia says there was another refereeing decision that went against Liverpool on the night.
Luis Garcia feels Liverpool should have had a penalty
Bergvall was first booked for a foul on Luis Diaz in the 67th minute and was in the thick of the action again moments before his goal.
He lunged into Kostas Tsimikas and fouled him, but the referee waived play on and didn’t bring play back to give him his second booking.
Arne Slot was spotted fuming at the referee and Virgil van Dijk claimed Bergvall should have been sent off for Tottenham, which is a sign that the Liverpool camp felt hard done by the decision.
Another incident late in the game emerged as a talking point as Curtis Jones was seemingly kicked by Dejan Kulusevski in the box.
And Garcia feels Liverpool should have had a penalty as it was a clear foul, suggesting that his former team was on the wrong end of two poor refereeing decisions.
“Let me say something else,” began Garcia on ESPN FC’s YouTube channel.
“A player [Curtis Jones] received a kick inside the box, it’s a penalty. It’s that clear. If the referee is not going to call it, you’ve got the VAR to go and check it. It’s a kick on a Liverpool player inside the box – that’s a penalty. That’s it.”
Not Liverpool’s night vs Tottenham
It’s clear the Reds were on the wrong end of not one but two harsh calls, but their performance still wasn’t as good as expected.
Blips are expected along the way as it’s impossible to remain perfect across competitions and to be fair to Liverpool, they do have a chance to make amends in the second leg.
Most of their big guns are expected to be rested for the FA Cup clash against Accrington Stanley on Saturday, after which they take on high-flying Nottingham Forest at Anfield in what promises to be an intriguing contest.
