FULL TIME: Liverpool 1-0 Bournemouth
And that’s that! Jurgen Klopp has his first win as Liverpool manager! He smiles warmly and pats a few backs, a special hug reserved for Firmino. He walks onto the pitch and commiserates with Bournemouth, before giving Allen a long hug followed by a forceful pep talk. Bournemouth played well tonight - Adam Bogdan had plenty to do - but they were second best nonetheless, Liverpool by far the better team in the second half, and scorers of a peach of a goal in the first. They’re in the hat for the quarter finals, and the sense of relief around Anfield is palpable. Next stop for Klopp’s team: Stamford Bridge. With the monkey off the new Liverpool manager’s back, and Chelsea having something to prove, it could be quite the clash. Saturday’s a date, then.
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90 min +3: ... nothing happens.
90 min +2: Bournemouth are enjoying the lion’s share of possession. A very nervous Liverpool can’t keep hold of it at all. And then Ritchie bursts past Allen down the inside-right channel and toe-pokes a brilliant effort towards the bottom right. Bogdan, who has been excellent tonight, makes yet another save, turning round the post for a corner. From which ...
90 min +1: Daniels finds a bit of space down the left, but his cross is high and too close to Bogdan, who leaps to claim. Jurgen Klopp is two minutes away from that elusive first win as Liverpool manager.
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90 min: Lucas strides down the right, into acres of space, having won the ball in the centre of the park. He whips a low cross to the near post, where Origi slides in. But the striker can’t connect, and Federici gathers. There will be three added minutes.
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88 min: Clyne makes off down the left at speed. Bournemouth look light at the back, but the full back decides to check, retaining possession rather than creating chances his goal. Lallana gets involved to hold up play further, and the clock ticks on.
87 min: Firmino has been excellent tonight, and earns a loud ovation from the Anfield faithful as he departs. Lallana takes his place.
85 min: Rantie is allowed to make his way in from the right wing, past Teixeira, Allen and Lucas. He’s got a chance to shoot on the edge of the D, but larrups it high and wide left. Liverpool hearts in mouths there.
83 min: Lucas blocks off Pugh down the left, and that’s a free kick, a chance for Bournemouth to throw men forward. Daniels curls a long one into the area, King rising but shouldering the ball right of the target instead of connecting with the nut.
82 min: Bournemouth make their final change: Stanislas is replaced by Rantie.
81 min: Teixeira batters a fine free kick towards the top right, but it’s turned round the post by Federici. From the corner, Randall has a dig from distance down the right, but it’s always heading wide left.
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80 min: Ibe sends Lucas into space down the right. Lucas then slides Randall into the box. Randall pulls back well, but his low cross for Origi is toe-poked out of the area. Marvellous last-ditch defence. But Clyne wins the ball back, and then Allen is upended by MacDonald on the edge of the D. MacDonald is booked, and this free kick is in a very dangerous position.
77 min: “Firmino has been a Lidl Suarez tonight,” writes Niall Mullen. “I mean that as a massive compliment.” Lucas, the Co-op Souness, sends a riser towards the top-left corner from 25 yards. It’s a fine belt from a player who hasn’t scored for five years, but Federici parries away.
76 min: A lot of Liverpool possession in the middle of the park, but Bournemouth are holding firm. This is an impressive performance from a team who have shipped ten goals in their previous two matches.
74 min: Ibe threads a pass inside from the right, releasing Randall into the area. A low cross is hacked behind for a corner. Pugh eyebrows the set piece away from danger. Liverpool are beginning to apply some pressure again.
72 min: Teixeira and Firmino tap quick passes to each other down the left, and nearly prise Bournemouth open. But the move becomes a little too intricate, and breaks down.
71 min: A double change by Bournemouth: Kermorgant and Arter off, Tomlin and King on.
69 min: Bournemouth are struggling to put it all together right now. A period of possession, deep in their own half, ends when Distin looks long for Kermorgant, but succeeds only in flying the ball straight through to Bogdan, his striker left with no chance of reaching the pass.
67 min: Ibe turns on the burners to smoke Daniels down the right. Then, having done the difficult bit, he scuffs his cross into the area. It’s mopped up with ease by Distin.
65 min: Brannagan’s debut comes to an end, as he’s replaced by Lucas. He’s earned himself a warm round of applause from the home support. “Without wanting to sound nerdy 0db is, in fact, the loudest possible noise,” corrects David Liversidge. “-120db would be the quietest.” Zero also represents the amount of research I’ve done there.
63 min: Firmino, to the right of the Bournemouth box, slips a ball inside for Ibe, who after a bit of shifting looks to curl one into the top left. The effort’s deflected back into the path of Firmino, who shanks hopelessly wide right from just inside the area. But these two have looked lively. It’s an energy that’s been missing from Liverpool’s play for the best part of 12 months, if not longer. Promising signs, but also baby steps.
61 min: Arter drops a shoulder and has a dig from 25 yards. It’s easily blocked. After the restart, Allen lunges in recklessly on MacDonald in the centre circle. He makes no contact, but gets booked for the poor challenge anyway.
59 min: Origi makes ground down the inside right and slips the ball inside for Randall, who is certainly an attack-minded full back. MacDonald brushes the young man off the ball with a sturdy shoulder. Anfield screams for a free kick just to the right of the D, but they’re not getting it.
58 min: Pugh is robbed by the livewire Firmino down the Liverpool right. Firmino storms into the area, with just Federici to beat, albeit from a tight angle. He whistles a low shot across the keeper and out to the left of the goal. Almost an identical miss to the one in the opening 15 seconds. But he’s shown glimpses of class tonight.
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56 min: Bournemouth enjoy plenty of the ball in the midfield, but once again their final pass is lacking. They’ve been the match of Liverpool tonight otherwise.
54 min: Bournemouth take a quick free kick out on the left, Liverpool expecting the ball to be lumped into the box. Arter finds Pugh, who runs down the wing, but his deep cross finds nobody in particular. Arter and Pugh too quick for their own team-mates there, never mind the opposition.
53 min: Ibe dances around near the right-hand corner flag, before flicking the ball inside for Firmino. For a split second, it looks like Bournemouth have been opened up by a crisp move, but they close ranks. Allen and Randall take turns to attempt to maintain the pressure, but the momentum’s eventually lost.
52 min: Teixeira slaloms down the inside-left channel, a determined run, and slides the ball to the left for Clyne, who earns a corner. The resulting set piece isn’t up to much.
49 min: Pugh bursts down the left and earns a corner off Lovren. Stanislas hits the set piece long. MacDonald rises, 12 yards out and level with the right-hand post. He powers a header down towards the bottom left, and isn’t far away from finding the corner and beating Bogdan. The ball goes inches wide. Brannagan had a handful of MacDonald’s shirt, too. A penalty? It’d have been soft, but you’ve certainly seen them given.
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47 min: A bitty start to the second half. Bournemouth are doing a fair bit of gegenpressing of their own.
And we're off again!
Liverpool set the ball rolling once more, and will be kicking towards the Kop in the second half, just as they like it. No changes. “Is it just my rubbish laptop speakers or is Anfield VERY quiet tonight?” wonders Matthias Scherer. “I’ve watched most Liverpool games this season and the atmosphere has rarely been great, but tonight I have the impression that I’m watching a Sunday service and not a football game. Albeit a church service where a handful of angry men occasionally shout instructions.” Yes, it’s been pretty damn quiet. Team and fans appear locked in a vicious circle of nervousness right now, a self-fulfilling prophecy which registers at 0 dB. Something’s got to give at some point.
Half-time “entertainment”: Someone’s been comparing Jurgen Klopp’s current predicament to the one faced by Gerard Houllier back in 1998. Who? Eh?
HALF TIME: Liverpool 1-0 Bournemouth
Ibe robs Daniels down the right, swans past MacDonald, and on the byline dinks a cross onto Origi’s head, six yards out. Origi can’t connect, the ball skimming off the top of his head. Teixeira attempts a snapshot from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, but only finds the side netting. And that’s that for the half. Both teams have something to be pleased about: Liverpool have a picture-book goal to their name, while Bournemouth have worked Adam Bogdan on three occasions, and are unlucky to be trailing. It promises to be a cracker of a second half. No flipping!
45 min: Arter decides to really test the referee’s patience by clipping Teixeira’s ankle. In itself, not too bad a challenge. Coming on the back of the Origi tackle, he’s really chancing his arm. But the referee waves play on.
44 min: Arter slides in on the back of Origi, taking the striker’s planted leg out at the ankle. He should be booked for that, but the referee keeps his cards in his pocket. In fairness, the game is being played in a fine sporting spirit, and nobody in red complains.
42 min: Daniels is allowed to run 60 yards down the left. He lays off to Pugh, who curls a ball to the far post, where Ritchie rises but can only waft a weak header towards the top right. Bogdan claims without fuss.
41 min: Anfield very quiet at the moment. It’s a long way from Dortmund.
39 min: Stanislas is clumsily brought down by Allen just outside the Liverpool box on the left. Stanislas takes the free kick himself, and goes for the top-left corner. It’s a rare old whip, and on target too, but Bogdan is behind it all the way. Liverpool would be in a spot of trouble without their keeper. That’s three fine stops now.
37 min: Pugh turns Randall inside out down the left. His cross is half cleared by Liverpool, but Ritchie is coming again down the right. His cross isn’t up to much either. The final ball is lacking, but Bournemouth are otherwise on top right now.
35 min: Ibe nearly bursts clear down the Liverpool right, but he can’t get free of Daniels. The ball’s half cleared upfield by Bournemouth, but Ritchie only finds Firmino, 30 yards out down the inside-left channel. Firmino takes a stride and curls powerfully towards the top right. It’s on target, but Federici anticipates well, then parries and claims with confidence.
34 min: Ibe bowls Ritchie over down the Bournemouth left. Another chance for the visitors to load the box. But the delivery is appalling, Stanislas failing to get the ball over the first man, and that man the diminutive Allen too.
33 min: Nope. Here comes Skrtel. So, then: Skrtel and Lovren. Can Bournemouth take advantage?
32 min: Toure limps off. No Skrtel yet. Liverpool are down to ten men, with Randall in the centre and Ibe filling in at right back. Can Bournemouth take advantage?
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30 min: Toure is down on the turf, feeling his hamstring. It doesn’t look as though he’s going to be able to continue. Martin Skrtel will replace him, though with the Oxlade-Chamberlain/Walcott farce suffered by Arsenal last night in mind, only after a good warm up one would hope.
28 min: Teixeira makes an appalling balls of the free kick, his low ball immediately cut out by the first man. He picks up possession again and makes things worse, a crossfield ball intercepted by Pugh. Bournemouth stream forward, but Clyne, back-pedalling furiously, stops their gallop. Poor play from the young playmaker, but he’s in plenty of credit right now after that delightful disguised back-heel which led to the goal.
27 min: Liverpool pass it around the back a bit again, with a view to drawing some of Bournemouth’s recent sting. Eventually Clyne springs forward, turning on the jets to burst past Smith down the left. He’s tugged back just before he can enter the area. A free kick in a dangerous position.
24 min: The locals are still transmitting nervousness, unsurprisingly so given Bournemouth’s progressive play. MacDonald wins a free kick down the left. Stanislas curls a dangerous ball into the Liverpool area, Toure doing very well to glance a header away from the middle with Kermorgant and Ritchie lurking six yards from goal.
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22 min: Bournemouth are definitely targeting the debutant Randall down the left. Pugh deedles and dawdles along the touchline and very nearly breaks clear again. The full back holds firm, though he needs a little help from a couple of team-mates. Understandable early nerves.
19 min: Bournemouth very nearly respond immediately, Arter smashing a low shot just wide left from the edge of the box. And then Pugh twists and turns into the area down the left, the ball looping up on the corner of the six-yard box. Stanislas rises to head towards the top left. That would have gone in were it not for Bogdan’s fingertips. Liverpool clear the corner. Bournemouth are losing, but were it not for Liverpool’s keeper, they’d have scored two goals. It’s a lovely open game, this.
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GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Bournemouth (Clyne 17)
This is a marvellous goal. Origi turns Distin down the right, lovely play. He checks back and passes inside for Firmino, who rolls a pass down the inside-right channel to release Teixeira. He tries to round Federici but overruns the ball - so improvises with a cheeky backheel that beats the keeper and would be going in had Smith not cleared off the line. But the ball breaks to Clyne on the left, who slams into the empty net. Very pretty. The sort of thing you used to see when Brendan Rodgers still had possession of his mojo, in fact.
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15 min: Liverpool have been doing a lot of light faffing around in front of goal recently, so this is much better. Ibe clips a pass inside from the right for Firmino, who with little backlift hammers a brisk rising shot towards the top right. It’s a lovely effort, hit with venom, and Federici fingertips over the bar. Nothing comes of the resulting corner, but that was promisingly energetic from the home side.
14 min: Daniels makes ground down the left and whips a low cross to the near post, where Kermorgant nearly connects. He would have done, were it not for a fine challenge by Lovren, who gets his body in the way and clears.
13 min: Smith bowls over Teixeira down the left. A chance for Liverpool to load the box, but they knock the free kick backwards and pass it around awhile in the 1970s style. Unlike the 1970s, a goal’s not coming at the end of all that possession.
11 min: Ibe is Liverpool’s brightest spark so far. Which isn’t saying much, though of course it’s early days. He earns a corner down the right. Teixeira whips it in, and Federici punches clear with purpose. “The wretched Allen’s unaccountable presence in the Wales team makes their qualification for the Euros even more of an exceptional feat,” suggests Lou Roper, who is cooking with gas tonight.
10 min: Smith wins a corner off Teixeira down the right. The set piece is hit way too deep, and Francis can’t make anything of his header, which flies off miles to the left of the target. Bournemouth have started strongly.
8 min: Ibe has been busy enough for Liverpool, dropping deep in the hope of making a few things happen. He slides another ball down the inside-right channel, very nearly springing the ambitious Randall free. But the full back’s got too much ground to make up, and the pass is too strong. Goal kick.
7 min: Nothing much going on right now, so they’re showing replays of the Stanislas chance. He opened his body nicely and sidefooted towards the bottom right. It was a decent effort, and a fine save by Bogdan with his feet. Good play all round. No regrets.
5 min: Allen faffs around in the centre circle, and is robbed by Kermorgant. Bournemouth are suddenly four on two! Kermorgant slides the ball to the left for Stanislas, who drops a shoulder to cut back into the middle as he enters the area. He’s one on one with Bogdan, and should score, but the keeper spreads himself brilliantly to save Liverpool, and more specifically the snoozing Allen. That was dismal play from an international midfielder, who was brushed off the ball with ease.
3 min: Bournemouth are on the front foot here. Ritchie makes good down the right, and curls one to the far post. Pugh very nearly connects with a header from close range, but Randall does enough to put him off. Quite a few worried “ooh”s from the Kop there, and no wonder.
2 min: Pugh goes rambling in the baroque style down the left wing. He dances this way and that, before finally swinging a cross into the centre. Bogdan claims under no pressure. An early test for Randall there, who at least kept his man out on the touchline.
And we're off again!
Bournemouth kick off, and they’ll be kicking towards the Kop in the first half. And within 15 seconds, Liverpool have nicked the ball. Ibe slides it down the right-hand channel, allowing Firmino to drag a shot across Federici and wide of the left-hand post. Nearly a whirlwind start for the hosts.
The teams are out! A blast of Liverpool’s take on The Fields of Athenry - which road is this stadium on again? - greets the players as they take to the pitch. And then the showtunes from Carousel. A fine atmosphere for what promises to be a fine match. We’ll be off in a minute! “Klopp has conjured an interesting mix of youth and uselessness with tonight’s selection,” opines Lou Roper. “But where does Clyne fit in?” Left back tonight.
And now here’s his opposite number, Eddie Howe! “The last two games are gone now. We’re really looking forward to our test tonight. It’s a huge boost to get Harry Arter back, he was the heartbeat of our midfield. Our confidence hasn’t been dented. We’re looking to make a fast start, but we need to defend better too. We don’t need extra motivation from what happened against Liverpool earlier in the season; it’s a cup tie at Anfield, we can take all our motivation from this game.” Like Klopp, he looks very relaxed; no doubt that serenity will be passed onto his players.
Klopp speaks! “We have to play the game and not think too much about Liverpool’s history in this tournament. We have injured players, but we have fit players too, so that is cool. My players are ready, and prepared for playing real football. There are two really young guys, but they have impressed me. It is cool what they have done in training. We have selected them because we want to win.” He signs off with what is fast becoming his trademark, a sing-song, supermarket PA announcement “thank yoo-ou!” So sweet. A million miles from the Incredible Shouting Touchline Man. Hey, he’s only human, a mass of contradictions made flesh.
Tonight’s half-and-half scarf, rather appropriately, is sported by a scary half-human, half Halloween beastie. Oo-er! Help! Mum! Hopefully the sight of this scarf - a lovely memento giving glee to this young chap, and one which will be cherished for years to come - will give nightmares to bores who feel it contravenes arbitrary Proper Supporter rules set out in a meeting everyone else couldn’t be bothered to attend.
It’s all change for Liverpool. Simon Mignolet gets the night off, Adam Bogdan taking his place in goal. Kolo Toure and Dejan Lovren start in the centre of defence for the first time under Jurgen Klopp. The 19-year-old midfielder Cameron Brannagan is handed his first start for the club, while 20-year-old right-back Connor Randall makes his first-team debut. Joao Carlos Teixeira also gets a chance to shine, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder making his first start in a red shirt, having previously looked promising as a sub during a dramatic late win at Fulham during Liverpool’s nearly season of 2013-14.
Bournemouth, who will be playing in blue and black tonight, but unlike Arsenal last night have an excuse for doing so, ring the changes too. They make six swaps from the team thrashed by Spurs on Sunday. The two names springing out from their teamsheet: Adam Federici, who replaces hapless keeper Artur Boruc, and influential midfielder Harry Arter, who returns from injury to make his first appearance of the season.
Tonight's experimental selections
Liverpool: Bogdan, Clyne, Toure, Lovren, Randall, Brannagan, Allen, Teixeira, Firmino, Origi, Ibe.
Subs: Coutinho, Moreno, Lallana, Lucas, Skrtel, Fulton, Sinclair.
Bournemouth: Federici, Francis, Smith, Distin, Daniels, MacDonald, Pugh, Ritchie, Arter, Stanislas, Kermorgant.
Subs: Cook, Rantie, King, Allsop, Tomlin, O’Kane, Cargill.
Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire)
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Liverpool and Bournemouth only met for the first time in league competition back in August - a fortunate 1-0 win for the Reds at Anfield - but they’ve got a little more history in the cups. Let’s first go back to 1927, when Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic came within four minutes of victory in the third round of the FA Cup at Dean Court, Frank Taylor so close to being their goalscoring hero. But the legendary Gordon Hodgson scrambled a late equaliser, and Liverpool won the replay 4-1.
Then in 1968, with Bill Shankly’s side chasing the league title, third-tier B&BA held them to a goalless draw, again in the third round of the FA Cup. And again they came close to winning: Keith East whistled the ball past Tommy Lawrence in the Liverpool goal, but the linesman’s flag went up for offside. Shankly’s men held on, and won the replay 4-1.
Those near symmetrical encounters were your lot, up until last year. In January 2014, Victor Moses and Daniel Sturridge sent a stuttering Liverpool through to the fifth round of the FA Cup at AFC Bournemouth’s expense at Dean Court. Then 11 months later, in the League Cup quarter final at the same venue, an out-of-form Liverpool finally clicked into gear, Raheem Sterling and Lazar Markovic doing the work in a 3-1 win for Brendan Rodgers.
Since then, Eddie Howe’s side have won promotion, while Rodgers has been given the boot with an upturn in dismal form very much the goal. But neither side are on top of their game right now. Jurgen Klopp is still looking for his first win as Liverpool boss - though everyone’s remaining patient apart from the media - while Bournemouth have only won one of their last eight games, and have been thrashed 5-1 in their last two, albeit against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Progression to the League Cup quarter final again would provide both teams with a much-needed boost. But of course only one can make it. Will Klopp pop his cherry against the Cherries, or can Bournemouth beat Liverpool for the first time in their history? We’ll find out soon enough!
Kick off: 7.45pm.
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