This was the side that beat Man U last weekend? Well, not really. They had Kevin Nolan and our own Danny Guthrie, two crucial pieces to the defensive stalwart that puzzled and trumped the Rooney and Ronaldo-less side, but still, Nani and Anderson alone were probably bought for more than the entire Bolton squad. Also it was at the Reebok, but before I get carried away making excuses for the Mancs, I'll get to the subject-at-hand, today's annihilation of the Wanderers.
If there has ever been a match make me look like a genius, today was it. Arbeloa started on the right, as I have pointed out in the past, played with more confidence than when he's on the left and was simply brilliant overall. He made no noticeable mistakes, completed all 29 pass attempts, and made a goal-saving clearance. Ryan Babel played the supersub role to perfection and probably could have netted a hat trick, but scored nonetheless, and Hyypiä was masterly on defense, breaking the scoreboard with a cleverly-placed header from a Gerrard free-kick.
Speaking of Gerrard, our skipper continued his current run of ingenious form by assisting on two goals and grabbing a Kaká special for good measure. That's eight goals in nine games. His assist to Torres was no less than world class revealing glimpses of cunning seen only from the likes of Xabi or Fabregas. Overall his effort was colossal, but when it's all said and done, will probably be get lost in a sea of better performances.
The funny thing is, Bolton actually looked the better side at the outset, probably feeding off their energy of the Man U win. Once Hyppiä put the ball past Jaaskelainen in the 17th minute though, all fears of an upset were put to rest. Then just before the halftime whistle, Gerrard and Torres made their mark on the match when our skipper fed the Spaniard with that brilliant through pass which Torres beat out a defender to gather and then deftly loop it past the Finnish keeper.
If the result of the match was still in question when the second half began, a penalty awarded to Crouch and converted by Gerrard 11 minutes in, provided all the answers needed to know that the three points were safely in our grasp. Some may question the call, but we were probably cheated out of at least one legitimate penalty when twice shots hit off the arms of Wanderer players in the box. Babel then came on in the 67th minute to provide some late match entertainment.
The only negative appeared to be Carragher having to be taken off for an apparent rib injury caused by a comical collision with Reina in which Anelka should have scored on an empty net in the first half. The French striker uncharacteristically placed it well wide, much to the delight of the crowd. Carra tried to continue, even coming out for the second half, but Jack Hobbs had to come on six minutes later for the Bootle icon. The good news is that the injury does not appear to be serious and Carra should be available next weekend when we face Reading, also Hobbs probably put in his best effort and was more than adequate as a sub.
Overall, we played well and rightly deserved the win, far from perfect, but more than just good enough. Bolton had a couple of prime opportunities to score, but it just wasn't in the books. It wouldn't have mattered anyhow, Liverpool were clearly the classier side. I'll be back tomorrow with player ratings. Godspeed.
