Immediately the system looked to be a wise choice; four minutes in and Cohen almost stole in on goal as uncertainty in the home defence failed so see a routine ball into the area dealt with – fortunately Pepe Reina was alert to the danger and foiled though Wanderers felt their player was impeded.

Liverpool were far from cohesive in the early exchanges; Aquilani and Ngog guilty of being wasteful in possession and in the latter’s case, a lack of anticipation on numerous occasions halted attacks which were building promisingly.

Hearts were in mouths when Chung-Yong strode unchallenged from just inside Liverpool’s half before moving into the area, rounding Reina and firing on goal – Kyrgiakos would of course come to the rescue.

Kuyt’s opener failed to deter the visitors as Chung-Yong again caused havoc, twisting and turning Liverpool defenders before falling under the challenge of Aquilani as he went to the by-line – the whistle went, not for a penalty but for a dive from the South Korean.

It would be as good as it got for Wanderers as Mascherano took control of the game and six minutes after the restart showed Liverpool’s renewed intentions when breaking with speed down the left wing before laying a weighted pass into Gerrard’s path; however the skipper hesitated and allowed Bolton to track back.

Gerrard was revelling in the surge of confidence his side were displaying and was denied by Jussi Jaaskelainen twice when connecting with trademark thundering efforts from distance – though Ngog’s baffling miss from the rebound of one of his skipper’s shots suggested not quite everyone had found their rhythm.

But the striker’s blushes were spared when Insua’s shot, which appeared to be heading wide, ricocheted off the Bolton skipper and past a wrong footed Jaaskelainen.

Substitute Lucas may have added a third but headed over late on, however the Liverpool faithful will have just been content at keeping it low key.