Darwin Núñez came off the bench to score a go-ahead goal for Liverpool in a 2-1 Carabao Cup fourth-round win over AFC Bournemouth at The Vitality Stadium on Wednesday night.
Cody Gakpo opened the scoring for Liverpool just after 30 minutes when he put back the short rebound from his own shot -- a deflected effort that redirected Harvey Elliot's volley from the edge of the area.
Cody Gakpo popped up with a real poacher’s effort to give Liverpool the lead in the 31st minute, taking two cracks from close ranger following a cross into the penalty area. Bournemouth began the second half brightly and battled back, though, before Justin Kluivert made it 1-1 in the 64th minute.
Alas, Darwin Nuñez bagged the winner just six minutes later, when he cut in front the left wing and uncorked a driven, dipping shot over the top of Ionut Radu. The Romanian goalkeeper backpedaled frantically, but the ball was hit with enough pace to beat him back to the goal line just as it dipped under the crossbar.
Bournemouth are 17th in the Premier League and qualified for this stage of the competition by defeating Championship side Stoke City. The Cherries' league form ahead of this match is woeful, as they've lost four of their last five games — although their most recent outing was a 2-1 victory over Burnley that put an end to the losing streak.
Regardless, their opponents will present a far bigger challenge than any other they've faced in recent weeks.
Liverpool are fourth in the league standings but just three points back of leaders Tottenham. The Reds are coming off three straight victories in all competitions, winning by a combined 10-1 score line.
Salah, 31, was a surprise inclusion in Liverpool's starting XI for the EFL Cup fourth round trip to Bournemouth as many had expected manager Jurgen Klopp to rest his star man.
Wednesday's game was Salah's 319th appearance for the Reds but the first in which he had started as skipper.
Salah led Liverpool to a 2-1 victory at the Vitality Stadium, playing the full 90 minutes.
Dominik Szoboszlai was the best player across the first half, playing a part in multiple Liverpool opportunities before Cody Gakpo put the Reds in front. However, the second half swung in favour of the hosts, as Kluivert and his teammates were bright in the build-up.
Yet where Nunez eventually proved decisive, Bournemouth fell short as the hosts made a mess of many quality opportunities. In the draw following the round of fixtures, Liverpool were matched up with West Ham in the quarterfinal round at home.
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