‘Reading the riot act’ – BBC reporter noticed one Liverpool player fuming in 1st half v Spurs | OneFootball

Liverpool are taking on Tottenham tonight in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, and the night didn’t get off to the most auspicious of circumstances for the Reds.

Spurs had some early sights of goal which stemmed from errors by the away side, with Kostas Tsimikas and Jarell Quansah both culpable of giving the ball away cheaply in their own defensive third.

In the opening few minutes, Alisson Becker was called upon to make a fine reaction save from Radu Dragusin, although play was then halted for a lengthy period as Rodrigo Bentancur required medical attention, with a concerned hush descending around the stadium before the Uruguayan was brought off on a stretcher.

Van Dijk rages at Liverpool teammates

Prior to that worrying stoppage, one reporter spotted Liverpool’s captain issuing some stern words to his teammates following a sloppy start to the match from the Reds.

BBC Sport‘s chief football writer Phil McNulty observed (20:10): “Virgil van Dijk has just been reading the riot act to Liverpool’s defence after some really sloppy work, first from Kostas Tsimikas then Jarell Quansah, who both conceded possession cheaply and in dangerous areas. Alisson has already saved well from Radu Dragusin and Van Dijk is demanding better.”

(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

A worrying start from Liverpool

First and foremost, our thoughts are with Rodrigo Bentancur, who we hope will make as swift a recovery as possible from the injury that he sustained.

In terms of the action on the pitch, Liverpool were indeed second best in the opening quarter of the game, with Van Dijk right to be annoyed at his fellow defenders for cheaply giving up possession in dangerous areas of the pitch.

The captain was visibly furious at some teammates during the 2-2 draw against Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday, with both of the visitors’ goals coming far too easily, and such shows of emotion illustrate that he expects the highest of standards from his fellow Reds.

Whatever happens tonight, Arne Slot’s side will have a second leg at home in four weeks’ time to try and clinch a third Carabao Cup final berth in four years, but they’ll need to improve on the sloppy opening that they had against Tottenham if they’re to get to Wembley on 16 March.