Toure: Why I'm so proud of Markovic

The Serbian winger notched his first goal for the club at the Goldsands Stadium with a well-placed finish from the edge of the box to double the Reds' lead on the night against their Championship opponents.

It capped a fine display from Markovic and was a complete contrast to the feeling he endured just one week ago, when he saw an energetic cameo performance against FC Basel cut short by a straight red card as Brendan Rodgers' side exited the Champions League.

Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com after the final whistle, which confirmed a place in the last four of the competition, Toure said: "I am very proud of Markovic.

"Since he came here, he hasn't had a lot of chances to play but he's shown great character and worked hard in training. He is a great boy, works hard, is very quick and technically is very, very good."

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It was a night of multiple positives for Liverpool on the south coast, including another stylish display from Markovic's fellow summer signing, Adam Lallana.

Toure was effusive in his praise for the former Southampton playmaker, who has been forced to contend with a couple of injuries already in his relatively short spell on Merseyside.

"We are very happy [with everyone's performance]," reflected the defender. "But, for me, Adam has been the best player in this Liverpool team this year. Definitely."

The contest to scoop the accolade of Liverpool's man of the match against Bournemouth had several stand-out contenders.

Ultimately, Raheem Sterling took the honour, winning the vote of the fans on the Reds' official Twitter account after his two goals helped to eliminate the Cherries.

The 20-year-old was again deployed as the spearhead of the visitors' attack - and Toure was impressed by his contribution.

"He is a fantastic boy and a fantastic player," said the Ivorian. "He is playing in a different position, which is not easy to adapt to in two games, but he scored twice.

"We will see a lot to come from him because he is a great player and a great boy as well, very intelligent."

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Liverpool's triumph at the Goldsands Stadium came just days after a disappointing 3-0 defeat by Manchester United. The Reds created chances aplenty at Old Trafford, but were unable to convert them.

It was a different story in the cup tie, however, with dominant possession being turned into clinical goals as a last-four berth was secured in style.

Toure reflected: "It was a good game and we played against a really good side. We showed character after the loss [against Manchester United]. It was important we won this game. We did that, and we are really happy.

"[Possession] is the strength of Liverpool. We keep the ball really well, but this season we haven't been doing that very well, and that's why I think we have struggled. But when we play like that, I think we are amazing because we have an offensive team and we need to keep the ball - we can't give it away all the time.

"We did it very well against Bournemouth and we have to carry on like that."

Liverpool were pitted against Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea in the two-legged semi-finals afterwards - a tie Toure insists the squad will relish tackling.

However, the 33-year-old remained adamant that with a crucial game against Arsenal to come at Anfield on Sunday, no-one within the camp would be looking too far ahead and daring to dream of what might be.

"Chelsea are the best team right now and it's going to be a great challenge," said Toure. "We will work hard, we will fight and we hope we can get the results - but we only think about the next game, which is Arsenal.

"It'll be a really tough game [against Arsenal] because at the moment, I think after the loss we had against United, we need the three points. We'll play at home and will take advantage of that.

"We will try to play our game, passing the ball well and fighting for every ball, and try to get the three points."