Liverpool continued their rotten run of form against a Bolton Wanderers team that has won a single game from the last thirteen! That was the kind of opposition Liverpool faced today. The first half was a lukewarm puddle as Liverpool struggled to create any inroads. Like I prophesied, Benitez had Riera and Kyrgiakos in the side for this game. Riera was full of spunk as usual but Kyyrgiakos looked a little off color.
Johnson celebrates his equalizer. http://www.footytube.com
Liverpool’s Achilles heal, their high susceptibility from corners was exposed again as Bolton’s Kevin Davies knocked one in off the said dead ball situation. Shoulders drooped on the Liverpool side and if it wasn’t for Johnson’s amazing goal scored five minutes before the first half ended, Liverpool might have been in all sorts of trouble. Johnson is having a great start to his season and his career with Liverpool and I hope it stays this way.
Liverpool started the second half in really poor style as a Kevin Davies assisted ball was shot like a bullet into the back of the net by an ecstatic Sammy Cohen. Liverpool now needed 2 goals, at least, to keep their Premier League campaign on track. Liverpool needed a goal badly before the hour mark and the worst thing was that the reds had their best eleven on the pitch!
However, to alleviate matters a little for Liverpool, Sean Davies was dismissed of a second yellow card and Liverpool needed to take full advantage of this dismissal. A barrage of corners followed that Liverpool couldn’t put away. To defy all odds, the ever-so-hardworking Kuyt pulled of an excellent chested assist for Torres which the latter put away with considerable ease to bring Liverpool back 2-2 into the game. Liverpool needed one more goal to make amends to the damage already inflicted by Bolton Wanderers.
Steven Gerrard was effectively man-marked. http://www.soccernet.com
With the match tied at 2-2, Benitez called on the services of Benayoun in the 60th minute and Voronin in the 75th minute — minutes 61 thru 74 were fruitless for Liverpool and the reds desperately needed the third goal as a draw in this match against a ten man side was tantamount to defeat with the only positive of the single point that a draw provides. With the league leaders at 12 points, a single point may not make the biggest of differences.
Liverpool had pinned Bolton into their own box for large portions of the game but the magic was missing from the players in red as the all important third goal eluded them as full time approached fast! The impending ignominy of a draw seemed to push Liverpool and it paid off. A corner of Glen Johnson saw Gerrard slam a goal, his third of the season as Liverpool took a 3-2 lead in the 83rd minute! Steven Gerrard was finally able to break the shackles imposed on him by Bolton player Muampa!
Gerrard scores the winner! http://www.soccernet.com
Stoppage time was upon the sides and the match turned from fast-paced to frenetic as both teams tried to make the most of the remaining time — Bolton had nothing to lose now and pushed forward at a reckless pace which was matched by an equally breathtakingly breakneck Liverpool who wanted a fourth goal to make amends to a feeble goal difference. The match ended in a 3-2 victory to Liverpool which was not the prettiest. Liverpool know that there was work to be done but for now, they had won and 3 points were in the bag!
Set piece situation 
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