Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk escaped disciplinary action in the opening minutes of their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg with Tottenham, despite appearing to elbow Richarlison.<br /><br />Van Dijk caught the Tottenham forward with a stray arm as they tussled for the ball in the second minute at Anfield.<br /><br />Richarlison went to the ground following the clash, with the Brazilian seen clutching his face.<br /><br />After returning to his feet, Richarlison was seen confronting Van Dijk over the incident.<br /><br />Referee Craig Pawson opted against acting against the Liverpool captain, with the VAR backing his decision not to sanction Van Dijk.<br /><br />Speaking on ITV coverage, co-commentator Ally McCoist suggested Van Dijk perhaps escaped a red card having caught Richarlison below the chin, rather than striking the forward in the face. <br /><br />'I don’t think there’s any doubt about having a quick look at it. He brings his arm up to try and shrug him off,' McCoist said.<br /><br />'There is an elbow there, I will tell you right now. Maybe just below the chin but they will have a look at it. <br /><br />'He might just get away with it because it’s below his chin. Richarlison feels hard done by, he uses his elbow. <br /><br />'I’m not sure it makes any contact with the face and that’s what saves him.'<br /><br />Liverpool were aiming to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg, with Tottenham leading thanks to Lucas Bergvall's goal.<br /><br />The Reds had felt aggrieved in the first leg when Bergvall had avoided a second yellow card, moments before scoring the opening goal of the tie.<br /><br />Liverpool leveled on aggregate late in the 34th minute at Anfield through Cody Gakpo.<br /><br />The winners of the semi-final will meet Newcastle in the final at Wembley next month.
