Virgil van Dijk bemoaned Lucas Bergvall not being dismissed before the Tottenham youngster's late winner, claiming a "big moment" went against Liverpool in Wednesday's EFL Cup semi-final first leg.
Liverpool were left furious as Bergvall scored with just four minutes remaining on Wednesday, only moments after a late challenge on Kostas Tsimikas with the midfielder already on a yellow card.
Arne Slot's side were forced to play with 10 men while Tsimikas received treatment before Bergvall latched onto Dominic Solanke's cutback pass and fired into the bottom corner for his first Spurs goal.
That leaves Ange Postecoglou's side with a narrow 1-0 lead to take to Anfield in the second leg as Van Dijk was left disappointed with the Bergvall decision.
"I think it was quite obvious that it was going to be a second yellow," the Liverpool captain said on Sky Sports. "Obviously I think it was pretty clear [what I said to the referee].
"It was no coincidence that a minute later he scored the winner, but it is what it is. [The referee] made a mistake, in my opinion, and I told him that.
"It was quite obvious I think and everyone on the sidelines knew it was supposed to be a yellow.
"There is a linesman there, a fourth official. There is a VAR there and a referee, and he doesn't get a second yellow.
"I'm not saying this is the reason we lost, but it was a big moment in the game."
Wednesday's defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium marked only Liverpool's second loss in their last 20 outings in the competition, also falling 3-2 to Manchester City in the 2022-23 fourth round.
Slot will still be hopeful of a response at Anfield next month, with defending champions Liverpool having progressed from seven of their last nine EFL Cup semi-final ties.
