Pre-Match
It’s no surprise that Jürgen Klopp decided to make a series of changes to his squad to face Bournemouth in their EFL Cup fourth round match.
The entire defense apart from Kostas Tsimikas was replaced in Sunday’s win over Nottingham Forest, and the midfield was also completely changed.
The big surprise was that Mohamed Salah started right from the first rounds of a cup match.
This was only his fourth appearance in a League Cup match for Liverpool.
Another surprise was that Dominik Szoboszlai started in the front row with a 4-3-3 formation.
First Half
Weather will certainly be a factor here on a windy evening on the south coast due to Storm Ciarán.
Both teams saw players slipping on the rain-soaked pitch early on.
Hope no one gets hurt there.
The back and forth were pretty good in the first 10 minutes.
Both teams had time to control the ball in the attacking third, and unsurprisingly Liverpool had the better position by far.
However, The Cherries are certainly showing they can cause problems for Liverpool’s backline.
Bournemouth had their first two real chances of the match in succession.
Justin Kluivert had a shot that could have gone wide but Caoimhín Kelleher saved it.
A minute later, Dominik Szoboszlai saw the ball pushed back to the edge of the Liverpool penalty area and Kelleher was forced to make a neat save after a well-placed shot.
Harvey Elliott is pulling the strings for Liverpool.
The young midfielder passed the ball perfectly to Mohamed Salah, but the striker started early and missed the post.
Elliott has made more penetrating passes and is more likely to unlock Bournemouth.
Liverpool, with a sensational move down the right wing, almost scored the opening goal.
Joe Gomez passed the ball from the wing to Dominik Szoboszlai, the Hungarian player passed the ball into the penalty area to catch Harvey Elliott’s run.
The midfielder tried to score instead of power, and his left-footed shot went too close to the goalkeeper and was blocked.
The game was now really open as both teams exchanged quick attacks.
Liverpool tried to slow down the play and pass from the back, but Quansah passed back to Kelleher, who wasn’t looking and almost recovered the ball.
Kelleher could just see him and hit the ball away.
LIVERPOOL GOAL!
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The Red Devils won the 5th corner of the match and the corner was taken by Kostas Tsimikas in the box.
The ball went straight to the top of the penalty area where Harvey Elliott was waiting.
Elliott volleyed the ball towards goal and it was redirected by Cody Gakpo with a backheel.
Ionut Radu made a counter-attack save, but the ball could only be saved by Gakpo, who fired home from close range.
Liverpool come back just a second later after putting the ball into the attacking third.
Joe Gomez passed the ball simply to Dominik Szoboszlai at the top of the box and no pressure fell on him.
Szoboszlai touched the ball and fired a low shot that beat the goalkeeper but narrowly missed the post.
Joe Gomez flies up to receive the ball in a high area on the right wing.
He had a path to goal many times but cut the ball to make a pass.
Smash it into the frame, boy.
An extra minute is added to a round, which doesn’t mean much except that everyone gets soaked for an extra minute because of the rain.
Liverpool will happily return to the dressing room with a fairly open 1-0 first half lead.
Both teams ended the first half with four shots on target.
Second Half
Liverpool will have to be aware that they are playing against the wind in the second half.
Long diagonal lines at the back will be unsuitable for the wind they face.
Caoimhín Kelleher quickly learned this lesson after the first kick was thrown into the air after spinning for a while.
The ball eventually went about 10 meters outside the Liverpool penalty area, but fortunately Jarrell Quansah was the closest person and recovered the ball.
Bournemouth look to break through and the ball is passed to Antoine Semenyo on the right.
Quansah recovered enough to take a shot from the edge of the box and it sailed harmlessly wide of the post.
Replays showed that Semenyo was well offside during his run, but the assistant referee did not recognize him even though Semenyo was close by.
There’s also no VAR tonight.
Bournemouth win a corner from the left and send the winger into the box.
The wind snatches the ball and pushes it towards the goal at the far post.
Joe Gomez was lucky there to escape the ranks.
Liverpool finally controlled the ball well in the second half and almost got a goal.
The ball was moved from left to right around the attacking half before the cross hit Mohamed Salah’s head in the middle of the penalty area.
His header went wide of the post.
Jürgen Klopp decided to come off the bench in the 60th minute and decided to bring on Darwin Núñez, Alexis Mac Allister and Trent Alexander Arnold.
It’s so annoying.
Join Curtis Jones, Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott.
Eep, it’s Bournemouth with two quick chances after being substituted.
Semenyo was the first to go a little off target, but he cut the ball and sent it over the crossbar.
Less than a minute later, a long-range shot was blocked by the wind, forcing Caoimhín Kelleher to tip the ball over the crossbar for a corner.
Bournemouth’s goal.
Alex Scott took the corner kick, the ball went past everyone and went wide of the post.
Justin Kluivert was there and headed the ball into the net, tying the score at 1-1.
It looked like Kelleher was being held tight throughout the match, but the referee wasn’t interested in calling out simple things like fouls throughout the match, so why start now.
TARGET CHAOS HIMBOOOOOOO!
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Bournemouth held the upper hand for a long time, but Liverpool was able to recover from their fast-paced play.
It was a simple diagonal ball to Darwin Núñez, whose terrible touch forced him to move to the left.
Unfazed, Núñez calmly passed a defender and walked towards the top of the penalty area before unleashing a curling shot that beat the goalkeeper who was jumping over the crossbar to give Liverpool a 2 -1 lead!
The game was extremely tense at this point as both teams pushed forward in transition.
Liverpool got two counter-attacks, one from Trent Alexander-Arnold and one from Cody Gakpo, but both were blocked and saved by the goalkeeper.
On the other side, Jarrell Quansah and Alexis Mac Allister intervened promptly in the Liverpool area to stop the move.
Klopp decides to give Dominik Szoboszlai 15 minutes of extra rest.
On comes Ryan Gravenberch in his place.
That is some ridiculous depth.
Klopp makes one last change in the final 10 minutes of the match.
Off comes Cody Gakpo, on comes Diogo Jota.
Bournemouth are pushing hard for an equalizer.
The wind again plays havoc with a cross in, and Jarrell Quansah has to be patient and wait on the ball before heading it clear while under pressure.
Veteran play from the young center back.
Bournemouth earn a free kick deep into the five minutes of stoppage time about 30 yards from goal.
Radu comes forward in hopes that the goalkeeper can provide another option in the box, but he ends up blocking the shot out for a Liverpool throw.
This was the last real action as Liverpool won!
Final Thoughts
Well, it’s not pretty but it certainly could be worse.
Despite difficult conditions, Liverpool persevered to overcome Bournemouth and reach the quarter-finals of the EFL League Cup.
The draw will take place later in the evening.
Liverpool will be delighted to return home with a fourth consecutive win after the international break before traveling to Luton Town this weekend.
