Bournemouth vs. Liverpool: Score, Grades, Reaction from Capital One Cup

Raheem Sterling scored twice as Liverpool advanced to the Capital One Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 victory at Championship leaders Bournemouth on Wednesday night.

Sterling headed the Reds into a 20th-minute lead before Lazar Markovic made it 2-0 seven minutes later. Sterling added his second—Liverpool's third—in the 51st minute before Dan Gosling pulled one back for Bournemouth six minutes later. Spurred on by their goal, the hosts piled the pressure on Liverpool but were unable to mount a serious comeback in the closing stages.

The victory, Liverpool's first in four matches in all competitions, could serve as a timely boost in what has become a difficult season for the Reds. Following the summer sale of striker Luis Suarez to Barcelona, Brendan Rodgers' men have been unable to recreate the memorably thrilling performances of last season, when they finished two points behind champions Manchester City. Knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the group stage, the Reds currently sit 11th in the Premier League table.

But while the season has been a disappointment so far, Liverpool are now within sight of silverware. The two-legged semi-finals are set for the end of January, with the final on March 1 at Wembley.

First, though, the Reds will hope to use the momentum from Wednesday's win to improve their league form. Arsenal visit Anfield on Sunday in a battle of teams aspiring for top-four finishes. Victory would see Liverpool pull within two points of Arsenal, who are currently sixth.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

Bournemouth, currently atop the Championship table, will continue their push for promotion Saturday at Blackpool. The top two teams at the end of the season earn promotion directly to the Premier League, with the next four entering the play-offs for the third and final place.

The Cherries have scored 44 goals in 21 league matches this season, and that attacking firepower was on show early in the match. The hosts created the first chance in the fourth minute when Yann Kermorgant chested down a pass into Callum Wilson's path. Wilson glided past Martin Skrtel and should have hit the target with his shot but instead rolled the ball wide of the post. 

Liverpool's first chance followed one minute later, with Adam Lallana hitting a swerving shot on target from distance. Bournemouth goalkeeper Artur Boruc made a fine save, tipping the ball out for a corner, which came to nothing.

From there, the visitors began to dominate and opened the scoring in the 20th minute. Markovic created the opening with a lofted cross from the left side to Jordan Henderson at the back post. Henderson headed back into the middle for Sterling, who nodded into the bottom corner at the opposite post.

Leading 1-0, Liverpool consolidated their hold on the match with a second goal just seven minutes later. Markovic went from provider to goalscorer, volleying in from the edge of the box after Boruc had saved an initial shot from Philippe Coutinho.

"

Markovic, the best player of the first 30 minutes, gets a rich reward. Great strike. #LFC

— Sam Tighe (@stighefootball) December 17, 2014"

Bournemouth wasted another big chance in the 28th minute. Simon Francis carved out space on the right and cut back into the middle for Kermorgant. But with the goal gaping, Kermorgant blasted over from 10 yards.

The score remained the same until the 51st minute, when Liverpool netted for a third time. Kolo Toure started a quick counter in the Reds' half, passing to Lallana, who quickly picked out Sterling. Bearing down on goal with a mazy run, Sterling turned his marker with outstanding ball control before slotting past Boruc.

With that the match appeared finished, but the hosts pulled a goal back in the 57th minute. Matt Ritchie served as the provider, running onto a long ball down the right before crossing into the middle for Gosling. Moving across the box from right to left with the ball at his feet, Gosling finished with a low shot under Brad Jones to give Bournemouth hope at 3-1.

Suddenly, Bournemouth were attacking with renewed fervour. The hosts had a penalty appeal denied in the 63rd minute, and Ryan Fraser sent a looping header wide of the far post two minutes later. Then, in the 69th minute, Gosling curled a shot off Jones' right-hand upright from inside the box.

Bournemouth were putting up an impressive fight, but gradually Liverpool began to regain control of the match. After weathering the storm in the minutes after Bournemouth's goal, the Reds saw out the final 20 minutes in relative comfort.

Grades

Starting XI	Rating
Substitutes	Rating
Artur Boruc	6.4
Simon Francis	5.9
Tommy Elphick	6.7
Baily Cargill	7.0
Adam Smith	7.4
Eunan O'Kane	6.6
Dan Gosling	7.8
Matt Ritchie	7.6
Yann Kermorgant	5.9
Junior Stanislas	5.8
Callum Wilson	6.0
Harry Arter (for Kermorgant, 53')	6.4
Ryan Fraser (for Stanislas, 54')	6.4
Brett Pitman (for O'Kane, 81')	6.0

Starting XI	Rating
Substitutes	Rating
Brad Jones	5.6
Kolo Toure	6.9
Martin Skrtel	7.0
Dejan Lovren	6.7
Jordan Henderson	7.8
Steven Gerrard	6.7
Lucas Leiva	6.6
Lazar Markovic	8.7
Philippe Coutinho	7.9
Raheem Sterling	8.5
Adam Lallana	8.6
Mamadou Sakho (for Lovren, 46')	6.6
Emre Can (for Coutinho, 74')	5.9
Fabio Borini (for Gerrard, 90')	No rating

Reaction

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers (via Express):

"

I thought it was a brilliant performance from us tonight. It was always going to be a difficult job, but we controlled the game and pressed at the right times and created chances. We thoroughly deserved it.

Raheem Sterling has got some stick recently which I find extraordinary. He is a kid of 19 and 20 he has been outstanding for us. He may not have scored the goals that some people expect, but I expect him to score goals and provide assists over the course of the season.

His best position is on the left but he can play across the line and has the qualities to play in a central role, as he has for our youth teams.

"

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe (via BBC Sport):

"

We showed our quality, showed we can create chances against a good team, but you have to admire their quality, they have world-class players. We were too open, got caught between two schools. 

We tweaked things at half-time, we took a risk with two strikers but we wanted to be positive, we were at home in a cup tie and wanted take the game to Liverpool to give it a go.

"