A Raheem Sterling brace and a fine Lazar Markovic strike gave Liverpool a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday evening.
A 57th minute Dan Gosling goal gave the home side hope of a magnificent comeback in the second half, and Eddie Howe’s men hit the post in a late flurry, but the Reds remained solid to record a morale-boosting victory and advance into the last four of the competition.
More to follow.
The goalkeeper was demoted for Liverpool’s 3-0 loss to Manchester United after a string of below-par performances, but played the crucial Champions League clash with Basel
QPR goalkeeper Rob Green has questioned the timing of Simon Mignolet’s dropping at Liverpool, but backed him to come back stronger.
Brendan Rodgers left the Belgian out of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford following a string of below-par performances, with Brad Jones promoted for the 3-0 loss.
Afterwards Rodgers admitted that Mignolet will be left out “indefinitely”, and Green feels the decision was “strange” after the manager allowed the keeper to play the crucial Champions League game against Basel.
“How do you define indefinitely? It’s indeterminate – maybe he’ll be back sooner than you’d expect,” he told Sky Sports.
“At some point keepers need a time out – it’s strange keeping him for the Champions League and removing him straight afterwards when he didn’t do a lot wrong, but that’s the manager’s decision.
“Simon will work hard and come back stronger.
“Clearly he’s got the ability and clearly the manager believes in him – he signed him – but when times are tough the manager may take stock behind the scenes and say ‘now’s the time to give him a rest’.
“It’s happened to me, it’s happened to every goalkeeper.”
The Championship leaders are expected to prove a test for Brendan Rodgers’s side in the League Cup but a victory going into their game against Arsenal would be a boost
Liverpool can still save their season and could kick-start it beating Bournemouth to reach the League Cup semi-finals, according to former midfielder Dietmar Hamann.
Brendan Rodgers’ side head to Dean Court searching for a change of fortunes following a 1-1 draw against Basel that dumped the club out of the Champions League and a 3-0 defeat by arch-rivals Manchester United on Sunday.
A trip to the Championship leaders could prove tricky – the Cherries are unbeaten since the end of the September – but Hamann knows that the impact of a win could be very positive before a Premier League meeting with Arsenal.
“In a season, sometimes you just need one result and one spark from somewhere then all of a sudden the whole complex of the season and team changes,” the German told the club’s official website.
“It’s tough going to a Championship team on any given day, especially when you go to a team that are top of the league and on a fantastic run.
“It doesn’t matter where you are in the league and what’s happening – if you are in the last eight of a cup competition, it’s always a big game because this club is about winning trophies.
“You have to be in the Champions League but you need to win a trophy every now and then. As a club, a team and players, you learn an awful lot about yourself and your team-mates when you play in a quarter-final, semi-final or, hopefully in this case, a final.
“It is an opportunity; I’d rather go to Bournemouth away than Chelsea or Manchester City away and Liverpool will be favourites. They have just got to get out there.
“If you go to Bournemouth and win the game, then you look forward to the Arsenal game. A week is a long time in football. They just have to keep working hard now, believe in themselves, get a result on Wednesday and then move on to Arsenal.”