PICTURES: King hits dramatic late leveller as Cherries make Anfield point

Benik Afobe, making his 200th career appearance, struck his 50th league goal to hand Cherries a seventh-minute lead.

Liverpool equalised through Philippe Coutinho five minutes before the break. And the Merseysiders hit the front on 59 minutes, when Divock Origi headed home.

But King's turn and shot stunned Anfield and earned Cherries their first point at the ground

All manner of theories concerning how the visitors might line up were being bandied around before kick-off. An extra man in midfield to contain Jurgen Klopp's turbo-charged Liverpool? Harry Arter and Jack Wilshere – starting his first match in seven weeks – operating on the toes of the visitors' back four, itself camped deep in its own half?

Not a bit of it.

This was 4-4-2 as it was designed. Two out and out attackers and, in former Red Jordon Ibe and Marc Pugh, a pair of wingers in the truest sense of the word.

And the way Howe had set up his troops was not for show: any Liverpool player in receipt of the ball during the opening exchanges was hounded to the point of distraction.

It needed Artur Boruc to finger-tip over Roberto Firmino's rising drive to ensure the plan didn't hit the buffers inside 60 seconds.

But Cherries' chasing and pressing was soon paying dividends. Reds goalkeeper Simon Mignolet needed to display some nifty footwork to elude the closing Afobe and extricate himself from a tight spot of his own making.

Centre-half Ragnar Klavan then got away with losing possession cheaply in his own half, to the audible consternation of the Kop, growling away behind him.

But the next home player to doze off, Wijnaldum, wasn't so lucky.

Charlie Daniels and Marc Pugh combined cutely down the left but this particular Cherries attack seemed to have died a death when Nathaniel Clyne intervened. The right-back cut a pass inside to Wijnaldum, who seemed quite stunned to have Arter breathing down his neck.

The oddly startled Dutchman woefully undercooked his backpass, enabling Afobe to sneak in and finish wonderfully across Mignolet for his landmark goal.

Arter wore Origi's elbow to his neck as the Liverpool striker twisted and fired wide, with Origi then making a hash of his attempt to steer home Philippe Coutinho's 19th-minute corner, which arrived at him via Joshua King's head.

Pugh connected far more sweetly in similar circumstances three minutes later – Simon Francis taking the corner, Steve Cook applying the flick - but his volley whistled past the right post.

Boruc clung on down to his right when Wijnaldum tried to balance his personal ledger with a low 25-yard drive and Coutinho planted a curling free-kick onto the roof of the net.

Either side of those efforts for the home team King – fresh from having Lucas Leiva's studs planted into his leg – outpaced Dejan Lovren down the right before sending a scorching strike a fraction over the bar.

Liverpool's leveller had something of the beauty and the beast about it.

There was certainly nothing pretty about Mignolet's punt downfield, and not much attractive, either, about the way the ball deflected off Cook as he challenged Origi.

When Firmino picked up the scraps however, the Brazilian turned on the style.

His close control was excellent, likewise the pass which found compatriot Coutinho, dashing in on Adam Smith's blindside.

Coutinho, off balance as he collected possession, took a touch, steadied himself and slipped the ball beyond Boruc.

Clyne was the width of a bar from turning the game on its head three minutes after the restart when he marauded forward to send a vicious 20-yard drive crashing into the woodwork.

Wijnaldum, still trying to atone for his earlier howler, blasted over from distance shortly before the hour mark – but the midfielder would soon be a man redeemed.

The pass from Coutinho that found him on the left of the box was wonderful. Wijnaldum didn't need to break his stride, befuddling Wilshere on his way to the byline.

From there he hoisted a cross to the back post, where Origi rose to head home.

Ryan Fraser had been stripped and ready to come on as play developed in the build up to the goal. In its immediate wake the Scotsman replaced Ibe, one direct wide man for another as Cherries stuck to their guns.

Lucas escaped a second yellow card for chopping down Wilshere in the middle of the park, while Pugh got nothing from referee Lee Mason after he was balked by Lovren.

But Howe's men were in no mood to be intimidated. Smith had already proved as much by squaring up to Emre Can.

And that fighting spirit translated into their football. Max Gradel had joined the cavalry, when the hosts got into all manner of bother trying to clear a long throw into the box.

Arter eventually let fly with a shot that inadvertently found King, with his back to goal.

He overpowered Klavan to spin and rifle low inside Mignolet's right-hand post.

Cherries had to survive a couple of jittery moments from there, not least when Boruc pouched Klavan's close-range stoppage time header.

But this was a deserved point, one to put on the shelf alongside those already earned against Manchester United, Tottenham, Everton and, of course, Liverpool, this season.

Liverpool (4-3-3): Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Klavan, Milner, Lucas, Can, Wijnaldum, Firmino, Origi, Coutinho (Matip, 65).

Unused subs: Sturridge, Grujic, Moreno, Woodburn, Alexander-Arnold, Karius (g/k).

Booked: Lucas.

Cherries (4-4-2): Boruc, A Smith, Francis, S Cook, Daniels, Ibe (Fraser, 61), Arter, Wilshere, Pugh (Gradel, 83), King, Afobe.

Unused subs: Cargill, B Smith, L Cook, Fraser, Mousset, Allsop (g/k).

Booked: Fraser.

Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire).