ANDONI Iraola admits Cherries “played worse” during the second half of their defeat against Liverpool, adding: “We started doing things that we haven’t done before.”

After a goalless first 45 minutes against the league leaders, Liverpool ran out 4-0 winners thanks to two goals apiece from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.

Reflecting on the difference in performance from first half to second half, Iraola said: “I think we could keep a high level during the first 45 minutes.

“But especially after the first goal, that was a really good combination from their side, we started doing things that we haven’t done before. Going a little bit too fast, not so disciplined I would say, tactically.

“Obviously we played worse in the second half.”

The deadlock was broken just four minutes after the restart, a neat passing move around the box involving Curtis Jones, Jota and scorer Nunez.

Asked if he was disappointed with the way his side defended for that opening goal, Iraola said: “I think they (Liverpool) were really clinical.

“Especially the first goal is difficult to defend. It is a good combination.

“The other goals I think we could do more, I think we could do better and react more quickly to these second balls.

“They are a team that is really physical. They keep this high intensity for 100 minutes.

“They win a lot of duels in the middle and once you become a little bit weaker, don’t arrive too early, start leaving them a little bit more space, it becomes difficult because they take their chances.

“Every time they arrived, their finishes were very, very good.

“We had our chances. We had set-pieces and we could even shoot more, because we were around the box a lot of times without taking the final shot, trying to find a better position.

“But against this level of opposition, sometimes you just have to give it a try and finish the things.”

Asked how he felt at half-time, in a game of few chances up to that point, Iraola said: “I was happy, especially with the beginning of the first half and how we ended the first half.

“In the last 10 minutes we had our momentum, we were pushing, we were being where we wanted to be.

“But I would say the first goal they scored was key. From there they got some confidence.

“They started to be even more aggressive in the press and we were not so clear with the things we were doing.”

Cherries have a quick turnaround, welcoming Swansea City to Vitality Stadium in the FA Cup on Thursday (7.45pm).