Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola did not want to pick Cherries in quarter-final draw
Former club Bournemouth was the one team the Reds head coach wanted to avoid.
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola’s reward for beating Chelsea on penalties was a Carabao Cup quarter-final against the one team he wanted to avoid – former team Bournemouth.
After Morgan Rogers and Cody Gakpo exchanged penalties late in the first half the game went to a shoot-out with Joe Gomez – who has not scored in 280 appearances for the club – converting the decisive spot-kick as they won 6-5.
It has already been a season of reunions for Iraola, having defeated friend and former team-mate Inigo Perez in the Champions League and now his fellow Basque Xabi Alonso, with whom he has been close since they were young, while also winning on his first return to the Vitality Stadium.
He did not want was a repeat so soon but the Cherries were paired with the Reds in the draw, with the only advantage being another match at Anfield.
“I was talking before the draw and said ‘The only team that I don’t want is Bournemouth’,” he said.
“For me it’s special, but they know me very well, they are playing very well lately, in a good moment. But it is what it is.
“We haven’t been very lucky with the draws. We played Spurs, Chelsea already, now Bournemouth, that is going to be obviously special for me.
“But we have to earn the right to be in the semi-finals and I hope we can do it here at home again.
“In the end in cup competitions, what matters is that you are in the next round, and you are in the draw and luckily for us we finished on the right side of the penalty shoot-out.
“We are pleased because the players have done a very big effort today and at least we get the reward of being in the quarter-finals.”
For former Reds midfielder Alonso it was the third successive defeat at Anfield since becoming a manager, having lost with Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid without scoring.
“For sure the outcome is not what we wanted, not what we expected before the game,” said the former Spain international, who named virtually his strongest-possible team.
“Once we reached the penalties there is going to be a sad sight.
“We played the game to a very good competitive level, we showed an improvement, we played with courage.
“It is a small setback, probably the least important competition for us so we move on.
“As soon as we leave Anfield our focus is the Premier League on Saturday (at home to Manchester United).”