Liverpool-Bournemouth Live: Raheem Sterling Strikes Twice In Reds' 3-1 Win

Final, 3-1: It’s all over at Goldsands Stadium. Liverpool seals a place in the Capital One Cup semifinals.

Lightning-quick Sterling’s two strikes and Markovic’s first goal for Liverpool led the way, as the Reds cruised to a well-deserved victory. Bournemouth acquitted itself well and gave Liverpool a slight fright in the second half, but the visitors were superior for the vast majority of the game and capitalized on most of the scoring chances they created.

[tweet https://twitter.com/LFC/status/545331654043394049 align=’center’]

That’s all for now, and thanks for joining us. Let’s discuss this one on Twitter @NESNsoccer and Facebook. Be sure to keep an eye out for some news, fan reactions, analysis and opinion that’s on the way on NESN.com.

90th minute +1, 3-1 Liverpool: Richie dribbles forward and shoots a rolling shot from 20 yards out, but Jones saves it with little trouble.

90th minute, 3-1 Liverpool: There will be three minutes of added time in the second half.

90th minute, 3-1 Liverpool: Rodgers makes his final change, replacing Gerrard with Borini.

89th minute, 3-1 Liverpool: Sterling tries to chip Boruc, but his effort goes wide of the near post.

89th minute, 3-1 Liverpool: Cargill heads Fraser’s cross into Jones’ waiting hands.

87th minuter, 3-1 Liverpool: The Reds are closing out the game without much fuss. They sapped Bournemouth’s energy with those lengthy spells of possession in the first half, making it unlikely that the hosts will mount a fierce comeback in the closing stages.

81st minute, 3-1 Liverpool: Bournemouth makes its final substitution, replacing O’Kane with Pitman.

81st minute, 3-1 Liverpool: Francis misses the target with a long-range effort.

78th minute, 3-1 Liverpool: The Reds have increased their share of possession since Can’s introduction, dampening the burgeoning spirit of Bournemouth’s players and home fans.

74th minute, 3-1 Liverpool: Rodgers makes another change in the midfield, replacing Coutinho with Can.

71st minute, 3-1 Liverpool: Arter tries to curl a shot into the top corner form a seemingly impossible angle, but he only narrowly misses. The hosts have put Liverpool under intense pressure in the last few minutes.

70th minute, 3-1 Liverpool: Bournemouth has another chance from the same sequence, but Ritchie misses the far post with a shot from a tight angle.

69th minute, 3-1 Liverpool: Gosling hits the post with a left-footed shot from 15 yards out.

67th minute, 3-1 Liverpool: Sterling misses the easiest of chances.

From the top of Bournemouth’s penalty area, Coutinho passed to Lallana, whose back-heel pass found Sterling in a great position. Sterling missed, which is amazing, given the form he has shown so far in this game.

65th minute, 3-1 Liverpool: Bournemouth’s self-belief is growing, and the hosts nearly reaped the rewards after Fraser floated a header to the back post. Fortunately for Liverpool, it was too far for a Bournemouth player to miss.

58th minute, 3-1 Liverpool: Sakho misses the top corner with a header off of a corner kick.

57th minute, 3-1 Liverpool: Gosling cuts into Liverpool’s lead, and Jones is in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.

The goal came from a counter-attack. Ritchie hit a cross to the top of the penalty area for Gosling, who controlled the ball, dribbled left and shot on goal. Jones should have saved it, but it skipped under him and went into the goal.

[tweet https://twitter.com/eatmygoaltv/status/545323316396167169 align=’center’%5D

[tweet https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/545322647119486976 align=’center’%5D

54th minute, 3-0 Liverpool: Bournemouth makes two substitutions, replacing Kermorgant and Stanislas with Arter and Fraser.

53rd minute, 3-0 Liverpool: Markovic tries to curl a shot inside of the far post, but he misses the target.

51st minute, 3-0 Liverpool: Sterling scores again, extending Liverpool’s lead to three.

[tweet https://twitter.com/LFC/status/545324793156075521 align=’center’%5D

Sterling took Lallana’s pass in Bournemouth’s third of the field and broke forward, dribbling by a defender and slotting his shot past the on-rushing Boruc.

[tweet https://twitter.com/eatmygoaltv/status/545321395790839808 align=’center’%5D

49th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Lallana heads Henderson’s corner kick to the back post, but no one is there, and it goes out for a goal kick. Markovic was closest.

48th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Coutinho dribbles his way into the Bournemouth penalty area and shoots, but it’s blocked out for a corner kick.

46th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: The second half is underway.

Liverpool made a substitution at halftime. Sakho entered. Lovren exited.

This is Sakho’s first action since his ill-timed walkout before Liverpool’s draw with Everton in late September.

Halftime, 2-0 Liverpool: That’s the end of the first half. Liverpool leads by two.

In the first half, Liverpool delivered the kind of performance fans have been waiting months to see. The Reds were confident, dangerous and entertaining, as they took the game to Bournemouth and opened a comfortable lead in the process. Sterling celebrated his new haircut by ending his goal drought, and Markovic scored for the first time in his Liverpool career.

Bournemouth fielded a weakened starting 11 but showed some quality in spurts at the beginning and end of the half. The hosts could have scored, but Wilson and Kermorgant wasted golden opportunities.

Liverpool’s marching orders for the second half: Stay focused at the back and more of the same going forward.

[tweet https://twitter.com/LFC/status/545315739708977152 align=’center’]

45th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Bournemouth did all the running in the first half, but the hosts have had the better of play and look more lively in the closing stages of the period.

39th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Gosling hits a powerful volley toward Liverpool’s goal, but Gerrard swings his leg and blocks it.

Bournemouth has had a good passage of attacking play and taken the game into Liverpool’s half (for an extended period) for the first time.

28th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Bournemouth nearly musters an instant response, but Kermorgant shot well over the goal despite having some space.

27th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Markovic strikes, and the Reds now are up by two.

The goal came after a long spell of possession. Coutinho started the sequence with a hard shot from a tight angle. Boruc saved it, but it caromed to Markovic, who volleyed it home from the top of the Bournemouth penalty area.

25th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The Reds are firmly in control of this one. They made almost 40 passes in the build-up to Sterling’s goal and have continued to hog the ball since then.

20th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Sterling heads the Reds out front.

[tweet https://twitter.com/LFC/status/545312136281751554 align=’center’]

[tweet https://twitter.com/LFC/status/545312501286854658 align=’center’]

Markovic sent a perfect pass to the far post for Henderson, who headed the ball back into the goal-mouth for Sterling. The 20-year old then headed the ball past Boruc from close range.

[tweet https://twitter.com/eatmygoaltv/status/545309682928484352 align=’center’]

[tweet https://twitter.com/WhoScored/status/545309603823882240 align=’center’]

[tweet https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/545313207683121152 align=’center’]

[tweet https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/545309220422561792 align=’center’]

17th minute, 0-0: Liverpool still maintains advantages in possession and is pushing play deep into Bournemouth’s half. Coutinho, Lallana and Sterling are connecting well with the midfielders, but the end product still is missing thus far.

10th minute, 0-0: The Reds have seized control of possession and territory in the last few minutes, passing the ball confidently in defense and midfield. They haven’t found a way through Bournemouth’s well-organized defense since Lallana’s effort.

Fifth minute, 0-0: Lallana and Coutinho combine in Bournemouth’s third to create Liverpool’s first chance of the game. Lallana fires a shot toward the top corner from 25 yards out, but Boruc makes a fine diving save.

Fourth minute, 0-0: Wilson shoots wide from just 10 yards out.

The Bournemouth striker dribbled through Skrtel at the edge of Liverpool’s penalty area and was one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Somehow he missed the target from close range.

Third minute, 0-0: Smith launches the first attack of the game for the hosts. He dribbles forward on the counter-attack and tries a shot from 25 yards out, but Toure blocks it away.

[tweet https://twitter.com/SkyFootball/status/545305491464024065 align=’center’%5D

Kickoff: Liverpool-Bournemouth is underway at Goldsands Stadium.

[tweet https://twitter.com/Awaydays23/status/545304202965438466 align=’center’%5D

Pregame: Rodgers reverted to a three-man line of defense against Manchester United on Sunday, and he’s sticking to it against Bournemouth.

Toure, Skrtel and Lovren are in the middle. Henderson and Markovic are likely to play as attacking wing-backs.

Lucas will shield the defense as a holding midfielder. Gerrard and Coutinho will provide the attacking threat from the midfield behind Lallana and Sterling.

Bournemouth has rotated some fresh faces into the lineup. Cargill, 19, starts in central defense.

2:30 p.m.: Here are the lineups:

LIVERPOOL
Brad Jones (1), goalkeeper
Kolo Toure (4), center back
Martin Skrtel (37), center back
Dejan Lovren (6), center back
Lucas Leiva (21), midfielder
Steven Gerrard (8), midfielder
Jordan Henderson (14), midfielder
Adam Lallana (20), midfielder
Phillipe Coutinho (10), forward
Lazar Markovic (50), forward
Raheem Sterling (31), forward

Substitutes
Simon Mignolet (22), goalkeeper
Mamadou Sakho (17), defender
Alberto Moreno (18), defender
Javier Manquillo (19), defender
Emre Can (23), midfielder
Fabio Borini (29), forward
Rickie Lambert (9), striker

[tweet https://twitter.com/LFC/status/545284917534658561 align=’center’%5D

BOURNEMOUTH
Artur Boruc (31), goalkeeper
Simon Francis (2), left back
Tommy Elphick (5), center back
Bailey Cargill (38), center back
Adam Smith (15), right back
Matt Ritchie (30), midfielder
Eunan O’Kane (32), midfielder
Dan Gosling (4), midfielder
Junior Sanislas (19), midfielder
Yann Kermorgant (18), striker
Callum Wilson (13), striker

Substitutes
Lee Camp (1), goalkeeper
Steve Cook (3), defender
Charlie Daniels (11), defender
Harry Arter (8), midfielder
Shaun MacDonald (16), midfielder
Ryan Fraser (20), midfielder
Brett Pitman (10), striker

Noon ET: Liverpool hopes a trip to England’s south coast will help revive its spirits and start a run of positive results.

Liverpool visits Bournemouth on Wednesday in a Capital One Cup (Football League Cup) quarterfinal game at Goldsands Stadium. Liverpool can book its place in the semifinal and stay on course for a potential trip to Wembley Stadium with a win. Victory also would help lift Liverpool’s confidence ahead of a flurry of Premier League games in the festive period of the season.

Liverpool currently sits 11th in the Premier League, but its cup performances have been more encouraging. Manager Brendan Rodgers is expected to field a strong lineup against Bournemouth. Raheem Sterling and Martin Skrtel are likely to start, but Glen Johnson and Mario Balotelli will miss the contest with groin injuries. Brad Jones will start at goalkeeper ahead of recently deposed No. 1 Simon Mignolet.

Bournemouth is leading the Championship (second division), and many expect it to provide a tough test for Liverpool. Bournemouth is unbeaten in its last 12 games, including the 2-1 win over Premier League club West Brom in the fourth round of the League Cup. Eddie Howe has led the Cherries to the quarterfinals of this competition for the first time in its history, and he’s keen to keep the Cinderella story going into the new year.

The Reds eliminated Bournemouth from last season’s FA Cup. They’re trying to repeat the trick in this term’s League Cup.

Liverpool-Bournemouth kicks off at 2:45 p.m. Join us right here for all the action from Goldsands Stadium.