A Darwin Nunez screamer knocked Bournemouth out of the Carabao Cup Fourth Round at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday night.
Goals from Holland teammates Gakpo and Kluivert had the tie going to penalties, but a moment of magic from the Uruguayan was enough to see the Reds go through to the quarter-finals of the competition.
Iraola's side will feel hard done by with the result however, with the lack of clinical finishing costing the Cherries once again.
Bournemouth made three changes to the side that picked up their first league win of the season on Saturday, with Smith, Kerkez and Kluivert coming into the side replacing Aarons, Tavernier and Lloyd Kelly, with the centre-back not featured in Andoni Iraola’s squad.
The away side heavily rotated from their 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, with only Mohamed Salah and Kostas Tsimikas keeping their place in Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The tone of the game was set from kickoff with Liverpool having most of the ball but Bournemouth looking dangerous on the counter, especially down the wings with Kluivert and Semenyo.
The first chance of the game came in the 12th minute when Smith switched the ball to Kluivert on the edge of the box, the winger hit the ball on the volley first time, but the shot was straight at Caoimhin Kelleher.
Minutes later and Kluivert had another opportunity to put Bournemouth into the lead when Kerkez won the ball high up the pitch and played it to the dutchman, but his shot was once again straight at Kelleher.
Liverpool’s first chance came in the 19th minute when Harvey Elliott cut the Bournemouth defence open with a through ball to Salah, the Egyptian was one-on-one with Radu but blazed the shot wide. The winger’s blushes were spared however as the assistant referee raised his flag.
Five minutes later and it was Bournemouth coming forward yet again when Solanke dropped deep and played a wonderful ball out to Semenyo on the right, the winger got o the byline and dragged it back for Christie, the Scotsman should have troubled Kelleher but dragged his shot wide.
The Reds also could’ve taken the lead as the ball was played to Szoboszlai on the right-hand side. The Hungarian played it to Harvey Elliott on the penalty spot, but the midfielder put his shot closer to the corner flag than Radu’s goal.
Andoni Iraola’s side kept showing their attacking intent when a Christie clearance found Kluivert, the Dutchamn touched it down and played in an onrushing Kerkez, who once again hit the shot straight at Kelleher.
But despite the Cherries’ dominance, it was the visitors that took the lead in the 31st minute when the ball fell to Elliott on the edge of the box, he fired a shot in that was deflected by Gakpo and forced a great reflex save from Radu, but the ball fell back to the Dutchman who successfully stabbed home.
Szoboszlai nearly doubled the lead two minutes later when Curtis Jones played the ball into the Hungarian inside the area, he turned and flashed his shot past Radu’s far post, inches away from finding the corner.
Bournemouth went into the break 1-0 down, however they probably felt hard done by as they had the most and the better of the chances in the first half, but it was the lack of finishing that ultimately cost them, with Gakpo’s finish the only thing separating the sides.
Iraola’s side came out swinging in the second half, with Alex Scott nearly scoring twice inside the first ten minutes. The first chance came when the ball was played to the Englishman on the edge of the box, and he fired inches over. Moments later the midfielder took a corner that he nearly scored directly from, but it was blocked on the line by Joe Gomez.
The first yellow cards of the game came around the 55th minute when Kerkez and Gakpo were booked for fouls, and Scott was booked for dissent after asking the referee to give the Liverpool forward a card.
Jurgen Klopp made is first changes in the 60th minute as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Darwin Nunez and Alexis Mac Allister replaced Elliott, Jones and Endo. The Cherries also made a change as Billing made way for Tavernier.
A minute later and Semenyo should’ve drawn Bournemouth level when Kluivert played the ball to the wide-open winger, but he dragged his shot past the near post to the disappointment of the Bournemouth fans
Tavernier then forced a great save out of Kelleher after cutting inside and releasing a powerful shot that the Irishman had to tip over.
Bournemouth’s hard work finally paid off in the 64th minute as Alex Scott whipped in a beautiful corner to the back post, Kelleher was in no-man’s land as Kluivert was there to guide the ball home for his first Cherries goal.
Andoni Iraola was booked a minute later for dissent towards referee John Brooks.
Liverpool quickly regained the lead through a brilliant Darwin Nunez goal. The ball came to the Uruguayan on the left-hand side, he cut inside past Adam Smith and curled a beautiful shot past Radu and into the top right corner.
In the 74th minute Iraola made his second round of changes, with Kluivert and Semenyo making way for Traore and Brooks. Liverpool made one of their own with Szoboszlai coming off for Gravenberch.
Both teams made their final changes, with goal scorer Gakpo making way for Jota and for Bournemouth Scott and Smith came off for Moore and Aarons.
There weren't a lot of chances in the final quarter of an hour, with neither side looking dangerous after the third goal. The result sees Iraola knocked out of his first cup competition as Bournemouth head coach, however he will feel that his side did enough to get a result out of the 2022 Carabao Cup champions. Alex Scott was the best player on the pitch, creating multiple good chances and getting a great assist for the Bournemouth goal. The Cherries' next game is also a tough fixture, going away to the Etihad on Saturday afternoon.