Former Saint Adam Lallana had nothing but praise for Raheem Sterling after two goals from the England forward earned Liverpool a place in the last four of the Capital One Cup at the expense of Bournemouth.

Sterling had endured a 22-game goal drought for club and country until he set the Reds on their way to a 3-1 away win with a close-range header.

Lazar Markovic grabbed the second before Sterling added another for his fifth goal of the season, and Lallana was in no doubt as to who deserved the plaudits for their success.

He told Sky Sports: ''We knew we would have to show quality tonight and the little man (Sterling) was brilliant.

''Week in, week out he's worked hard and eventually his goals were going to come and it's a credit to how mature he is at such a young age.''

Dan Gosling managed to pull a goal back for Bournemouth and then rattled a post, but the Championship leaders were unable to extend their 12-game unbeaten run.

Lallana admitted Liverpool had felt the pressure at times during the match, saying: ''The crowd got behind them but at half-time we said they were going to have a spell.

''They're the home team and we needed to be professional, and we came out and got the third goal. Maybe we were a little bit complacent and allowed them to get the goal but they're not at the top of the Championship for no reason, so it was a really good win tonight and we're through to the semi-finals.''

Sterling himself played down his personal achievement and instead reserved praise for the team's overall performance, which came in the wake of a 3-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

''It's been difficult the last few weeks but I think the boys did really well today,'' he said. ''We deserved it, we played some great football at times and it's all credit to the lads.

''The most important thing is for the team to win and I'm happy to be involved, in and amongst the goals, but as long as the team wins I'm happy.''

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was also delighted with the manner in which his side won, and said: ''Our performance was brilliant.

''We've come away from home, we controlled the game and created many chances. Credit to Bournemouth as they kept going, even at 3-0. But overall for us it was a wonderful performance and we thoroughly deserved it.''