ALTHOUGH the rare appearance of co-owner Tom Hicks at Anfield was another reminder of Liverpool’s boardroom disharmony – Saturday’s 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers suggests calmer waters lay ahead on the pitch at least.
An ultimately comfortable victory, a result which extends Liverpool’s unbeaten league run to six games and brings about a welcome return to something akin to normality, was the type of routine win which Liverpool fans had hoped would be the basis for a title charge this season.
But of course the campaign has not unfolded as predicted and as much as Saturday’s triumph was deserved in the end, the scoreline was one which also belied the troubles which linger in the side.
As Liverpool’s wounds continue to heal there is still some papering over the cracks.
Indeed, the mutterings at the interval were not of how Benitez’s men had shrugged of the lethargy of their midweek bore draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers and recaptured the form which saw them run Manchester United so close last season, but of how Liverpool were fortunate not to be losing, never mind heading in with an advantage.
At this stage of the proceedings, few would have been bold enough to predict the routine nature in which the second half panned out for the home side having seen Sotirios Kyrgiakos clear off the line to deny Chung-Yong Lee in an opening period where Liverpool on the pitch were a reflection of the club off it – riddled with confusion and lacking cohesion.
Owen Coyle’s visiting Trotters were the far more threatening in the early exchanges as Liverpool toiled with hesitancy and a distinct lack of ideas.
But having survived Chung-Yong’s attempt and a penalty claim after Tamir Cohen looked to have been felled by Jamie Carragher, Benitez’s side struck.
Ironically it was Liverpool’s worst offender of the first half, Alberto Aquilani, who made the telling contribution for Dirk Kuyt’s opener in the 37th minute.
For those concerned by Benitez’s open flirtation with the reported advances of Juventus for his services, making only his fourth Premier League start, the performance of the Azzurri star Aquilani will have put the Liverpool manager off Italian football for the time being at least.
But in a break from his malaise, the Italian leapt at the back post to nod Emiliano Insua’s hung cross into the path of Kuyt who proded home.
It was a goal which deflated Bolton and paved the way for Liverpool to secure the win and close the gap on Tottenham Hotspur to one point as the race for fourth spot hots up – after many false dawns this may have actually been a turning point in their season.
A Kevin Davies own goal with 20 minutes remaining rightly gave Liverpool the greater buffer their much improved second half showing, stoked by the catalyst of Javier Mascherano, deserved but the more thorough test of the Anfield revival will come with the Merseyside derby and the visit to the Emirates.
Liverpool made two changes from the side which ground to a halt at Wolves in Tuesday night’s dour 0-0 draw; out went Lucas and Maxi and in came David Ngog and Aquilani as their replacements.
Saturday afternoon’s match was Coyle’s second of the season at Anfield having overseen Burnley’s 4-0 mauling in September when Yossi Benayoun orchestrated the win with a hat-trick – the new Bolton boss no doubt was relieved to see the Israeli sidelined with injury but perhaps had that result in mind when selecting Bolton’s 4-5-1 line-up.
