Reaction'Amazing' - Cody Gakpo hails Darwin Nunez's Bournemouth brilliance

Nunez came off the bench and netted the decisive goal as the Reds battled their way to a 2-1 victory at Vitality Stadium, with Gakpo also on target on the south coast.

Afterwards, the Netherlands international spoke to Liverpoolfc.com to reflect on a hard-fought game, one settled by a piece of magic from Nunez – his seventh strike of 2023-24.

“It was an amazing goal,” said Gakpo. “Lots of quality in the action and it was a good pass from Trent [Alexander-Arnold]. Darwin showed good action to cut inside and it was a fantastic goal.”

He added: “I think for the players it’s not really a surprise as we see his quality every time in training and in games as well.

“Now he’s just in a great run and we are there to support him and he is there too, supporting us to keep this fantastic run for him and for us as well.”

Gakpo was making his first start since picking up an injury at Tottenham Hotspur at the end of September and marked the occasion with his fourth goal of the season to open the scoring on Wednesday night.

“The ball was close to me and I just flicked it, the goalkeeper saved it and then I didn’t have much time to think, so I just reacted and knocked the ball in,” he said of the effort.

“Obviously I was out injured for three or four weeks and then it’s important to get minutes again in the legs, so this game was really important for me to get minutes back and pick up where I left off.”

The victory at Bournemouth means Liverpool have now won each of their last four matches since the international break, and they can look forward to an Anfield quarter-final against West Ham United next month.

“These kind of moments are there for us to stick together and to really fight through the game,” Gakpo said of a tie played in challenging weather conditions.

“We did that. [We are] three games away from Wembley, so I think it’s a step in the right direction.”