Liverpool 4, Bolton 0 - post match analysis

Dec 3 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

ON Wednesday it was his fans who were on the march. Now Rafael Benitez’s players are making similarly demonstrative strides – and it won’t just be Liverpool’s American owners taking note.

Anfield celebrated the outbreak of peace yesterday as another comprehensive triumph provided further reason to believe the Spaniard can oversee a genuine challenge for a first championship since 1990.

To think barely a week ago, Benitez had been perilously close to being removed from his position after a fall-out with George Gillett and Tom Hicks spilled out into the public arena.

Both sides subsequently stepped back from the brink, with steps to avoid a repeat of what is now being termed a “misunderstanding” having been taken with the return to Merseyside of Foster Gillett to improve the lines of communication across the Atlantic.

And his report back to America last night will have surely have spoken in glowing terms of the progress Liverpool are now making in the Premier League. Certainly, the triumvirate of Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Avram Grant will be more than aware of the momentum being gathered by Benitez’s side.

A 4-0 beating of Bolton Wanderers secured a fifth successive victory – a spell in which 21 goals have been scored – and extended Liverpool’s unbeaten league start to the season.

It ensured they kept pace with leaders Arsenal and moved the Anfield outfit into third place, ahead of champions Manchester United from the same number of games; a small yet significant psychological marker.

Only the Gunners have scored more top-flight goals this season while Liverpool continue to boast the best defence in the division, Cesc Fabregas the sole opposing player to beat Pepe Reina in a league match during the past two months.

Fernando Torres had the Kop purring again with another impressive striker’s performance, the highlight of which was an exquisite finish over Juusi Jaaskelainen from Steven Gerrard’s fine pass on the stroke of half-time to give him his 11th goal in 17 games.

The goal was an example of how Gerrard is returning to the peak of his powers. Not content with also creating the opener for Sami Hyypia, the skipper later converted a penalty to take his tally to eight in his last nine for Liverpool – all coming in different matches.

Alongside him, Lucas Leiva replicated his fine showing at St James’ Park the previous week to underline his burgeoning first-team potential.

The final scoreline may have reflected Liverpool’s superiority but, as against Porto in midweek, they were indebted to a poor miss at a crucial time from their opponents.

Unlike the roundly jeered El-Hadji Diouf, Nicolas Anelka is fondly remembered in these parts for his impact during a six-month loan in 2002. And the Frenchman had Liverpool fans cheering once again by firing wide in the 38th minute with the goal at his mercy following a collision between Carragher and Pepe Reina.

That would have made the score 1-1. And while it would be wrong to point to that as a turning point in the game, an equaliser would no doubt have asked more serious questions of the home team.

Instead, Liverpool made the most of their reprieve to extend Bolton’s wait for a first league victory at Anfield since January 1954.

As a result of being clattered by his goalkeeper, Carragher sustained a rib injury and was eventually forced off shortly after the break, handing young centre-back Jack Hobbs a 39-minute Premier League debut.

But the 19-year-old and his defensive colleagues were rarely threatened by a subdued Bolton, who showed little of the roughhouse tactics that helped defeat Manchester United last week and have so irked Benitez in the past.

Buoyed by their recent form, Liverpool began in lively fashion and were close to taking the lead in the fifth minute.