‘Amazing’ – AFC Bournemouth boss blown away by what Liverpool star did in Carabao Cup
Liverpool earned a 2-1 win to move into the last eight of the Carabao Cup.
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola could not hide his admiration for Darwin Nunez’s ‘amazing’ match-winner in his side’s Carabao Cup loss to Liverpool.
The Reds moved into the quarter-finals of the competition they’ve won a record nine times on the south coast. Jurgen Klopp’s side earned a 2-1 win over the Cherries as they battled through the treacherous conditions of Storm Ciaran. Cody Gakpo opened the scoring for Liverpool in the first half but Justin Kluivert equalised for the home side in the 61st minute.
The Reds made nine changes to their team and introduced Nunez shortly before Bournemouth got back level. And the £64 million signing from Benfica came up with a moment of magic in the 70th minute to move Liverpool into the last eight of the Carabao Cup. Nunez cut inside before curling home from outside the box to set up a last-eight tie against West Ham.
And despite Bournemouth missing out on a chance of potentially reaching Wembley, Iraola was magnanimous in defeat. He said: “We cannot ask for much more from the players, I think we played really well. In the second half, we put a lot of pressure on them but it’s an amazing goal from Darwin [Nunez].
“We kept pushing and had chances but we were not clinical enough. The wind today was a key factor. We struggled in the first half and they struggled in the second. It was difficult for both teams and I think it mattered a lot.
“Liverpool didn’t want to kick it long in the second half and we wanted to use set-pieces, but they are the ones who scored the second goal and we have to congratulate them. We played well today. It’s a cup competition and you don’t want to go out.”
