Jurgen Klopp finally registered his first win as Liverpool manager in a 1-0 victory over AFC Bournemouth in the League Cup fourth round.
The former Borussia Dortmund boss saw his side held to a draw in each of his first three matches in the Anfield hot seat but can now celebrate moving a step closer to a first piece of silverware.
With Chelsea and Arsenal having crashed out of the competition on Tuesday, Klopp may see a path to the final opening up, and it was Nathaniel Clyne’s first Liverpool goal that secured victory at Anfield on Wednesday.
The full-back was on hand to apply the finish after Joao Carlos Teixeira had seen the cheekiest of efforts cleared off the line in the 17th minute.
All of Bournemouth’s best chances fell to Junior Stanislas, who was unable to make any of them count as the visitors suffered a repeat of their 1-0 Premier League defeat at Anfield earlier in the season.
Klopp handed full debuts to Teixeira, Connor Randall and Cameron Brannagan as he made nine changes, while opposite number Eddie Howe brought in six new faces in a bid to pull off an upset that would have provided the perfect tonic following back-to-back 5-1 defeats in the Premier League.