In the first leg of the English League Cup semi-final, Liverpool, ranked first in the Premier League, faced off against Tottenham Hotspur away from home. During the first half, Dragoșin's shot was saved by a heroic goalkeeper, Solanke's shot was also blocked, and McAlistair's header was caught. In the second half, Polo's shot was blocked, Salah's lob failed, and Solanke's goal was ruled invalid, with Lucas Berival eventually scoring the decisive goal. As a result, Liverpool lost 0-1 to Tottenham, causing a major upset.
The game started with Tottenham creating a threat through a corner kick. Dragosin found himself unmarked in the penalty area and took a shot, but the goalkeeper reacted quickly and saved it. During this time, Bentancur got injured and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher, with Brennan Johnson coming on as a substitute. In the 21st minute, Son Heung-min passed across from the left side of the penalty area, and Solanke quickly followed up with a shot, but Alisson saved it again. Just two minutes later, Salah took a low shot from the edge of the penalty area, but the ball missed the goal slightly.
At the 30th minute of the game, Quansah got injured and could not continue playing, so he was replaced by Far藤航. Two minutes later, McAlistair headed the ball in the penalty area, but it was too straight and was caught by the goalkeeper. In stoppage time of the first half, Salah adjusted his position near the penalty line and took a shot, but it went high. Then, Liverpool quickly launched a counterattack, with Gakpo leading the charge across half the field, all the way to the edge of the penalty area, where he opened up space and took a long-range shot, only to have it saved by the goalkeeper. Thus, the first half ended with a score of 0-0.
The second half began with both teams changing sides. At the 55th minute, there was a dangerous moment when Alisson made a very low-level mistake, allowing the ball to be intercepted by the opponent. Polo took advantage of the situation and shot, but fortunately, Van Dijk managed to block the certain goal, allowing Liverpool to narrowly escape. Just three minutes later, Salah tried an unexpected lob from the right side of the frontcourt, but the goalkeeper reacted quickly and caught the ball on the goal line. At the 60th minute, Liverpool made large-scale substitutions, with Nunez, Alexander-Arnold, and Diaz coming on as substitutes.
At the 61st minute of the game, Nunez fought for a header near the penalty spot, but the angle was too straight, and the ball was caught by the goalkeeper. Six minutes later, Salah played a through ball, and Nunez quickly inserted into the penalty area from the right side, taking a shot at a small angle, but the ball was saved. At the 72nd minute, Tottenham made a substitution, with Son Heungmin being replaced by Werner. Five minutes later, Solanke got a one-on-one chance and scored with a low shot, but the goal was ruled invalid due to offside. At the 85th minute, Lucas Berival of Tottenham scored a low shot to successfully complete the decisive goal! Liverpool fell. In the end, Liverpool lost 0-1 to Tottenham, causing an upset, and their unbeaten record of 24 games in all competitions came to an end.