Andoni Iraola has admitted he did not want Liverpool to draw Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, with the Reds set to host his former club at Anfield in December.
Liverpool booked their place in the last eight on Wednesday after beating Chelsea on penalties following a 1-1 draw in normal time. But Iraola now faces a difficult reunion with a Bournemouth side he believes is in good form.
“I was talking before the draw and I said: ‘The only team that I don’t want is Bournemouth,’” the Liverpool manager said after the win over Chelsea.
“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.”
Liverpool have already faced Tottenham and Chelsea on their way to the quarter-finals, and Iraola knows another tough test awaits if they are to reach the last four.
“We haven’t been very lucky with the draws,” he said. “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.”
Iraola was pleased to see Liverpool progress after a closely fought contest against Chelsea, in which the two sides scored from the penalty spot before the interval. Changes in the second half failed to produce another goal, leaving the tie to be settled by a shootout.
“In the end in cup competitions, what matters is that you are in the next round, and you are in the draw,” he said. “And luckily for us, we finished on the right side of the penalty shootout.
“I think we are pleased because the players have done a very big effort today and at least we get the reward of being in the quarterfinals.”
Liverpool reached the Carabao Cup final two seasons ago but lost 2-1 to Newcastle United. They will now look to take another step towards the final when Bournemouth visit Anfield in December.
For Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso, the defeat extended an unwanted run at Anfield. The former Liverpool midfielder has now lost three consecutive matches at the ground as a manager, with Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid also failing to score in defeats there.
Alonso, who selected a side close to his strongest available team, felt Chelsea had performed well despite the result.
“For sure the outcome is not what we wanted, not what we expected before the game,” he said. “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.”
Alonso described the cup defeat as a minor setback and said his attention had already turned to Chelsea’s next Premier League fixture against Manchester United on Saturday.
“It is a small setback, probably the least important competition for us so we move on,” he said. “As soon as we leave Anfield our focus is the Premier League on Saturday.”
