‘Honestly…’ – Andoni Iraola gives candid reaction to drawing Bournemouth in Carabao Cup quarters

Andoni Iraola has admitted that he’d rather not have seen Liverpool drawn against Bournemouth in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Both teams came through their fourth-round ties on Wednesday night, with the Reds defeating Chelsea on penalties and the Cherries seeing off Aston Villa, and they were paired together in the draw for the last eight.

It means that the Basque will come up against his former club at least twice more this season, having already returned to the Vitality Stadium in September when the Merseysiders triumphed 1-0.

Iraola wanted to avoid Bournemouth

With the quarter-final draw being made shortly after the match at Anfield ended last night, Iraola was asked for his reaction at Liverpool being paired with Bournemouth.

The 44-year-old replied (via liverpoolfc.com): “Honestly, I was talking before the draw and I said, ‘The only team I don’t want is Bournemouth…’ For me, it’s special. They know me very well, they are playing very well lately, in a good moment, but it is what it is.

“We haven’t been very lucky with the draws – we have played Spurs and Chelsea already and 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.”

Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Opportunity knocks for Iraola

Although Iraola has been spared another trip to the Vitality Stadium as Liverpool were drawn at home, another clash against his former club is sure to see him dominating the narrative ahead of the Carabao Cup quarter-final, which’ll likely take place on Wednesday 16 December.

When the Reds won away to Bournemouth last month, the Cherries had yet to win a game under Marco Rose. The south coast side could be a much more fearsome proposition this time around if they continue their recent resurgence, with AC Milan, Manchester United and Aston Villa all vanquished 3-0 over the past week.

For both teams, the quarter-final in mid-December will represent an inviting opportunity to take a giant stride towards winning a trophy this season. With Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Man United all out of the Carabao Cup, the route to a Wembley final is very much opening up.

Iraola has already voiced his intentions to take the competition seriously, viewing it as a genuine opportunity to lift silverware in his first campaign in charge of Liverpool.

That’ll mean having to get through a tie that he’d rather not have had to negotiate, but we’re sure he’d prefer it to having a week off in December from his team already being knocked out of the competition.