The Cherries will grow from Anfield experience

There are few harder places for teams to have to go to than Anfield on a Monday night. The Cherries went there though and were an absolute credit to the shirt and the town. Yes, they did not win the game and they were unfortunate, but the bigger picture is that they stamped their authority on much of the match and certainly improved on their first home match of the season.

There were many including myself who feared what a big defeat at Liverpool might do to the confidence of the Cherries, but that simply didn't happen. It was a superb team performance by the south coast side and there certainly didn't look like the teams were playing in different leagues last season.

Now they have to understand how they managed to be effective in taking the game to Liverpool and build on that with seeking more shots on goal and creating more opportunities. At the back Artur Boruc had another quiet game and the Cherries are showing that they are competitive. The back four looked exceptionally strong which is what will be needed in the tests to come.

The Cherries will know that they can beat Liverpool when they next meet.

"On one hand I'm very pleased with the players, very proud of them," said Eddie Howe. "For the way they performed for the majority of the game. Proud of the way they stuck to the principles of how we wanted to play and we were brave enough to go toe-to-toe with Liverpool and there are so many positives to come out of the game."

"Second half we came out with renewed vigour and Matty was unlucky with a couple of chances. ... And we've minimised Liverpool's opportunities even on the counter-attack," said Eddie. "So I was well pleased with the players. they'll grow from tonight."