Liverpool faced Bolton Wanderers at Anfield in their weekend fixture. Liverpool's season has been jittery with too many ups and downs, the latest being FA cup exit in which they lost to second division club Reading. Rafa Benitez had put up a side which has the skill and the ability but completely lacking in confidence. David Nogog replaced Fernando Torres upfront as the striker, partnering with Dirk Kuyt.
Liverpool began the first half, shooting at the KOP end. Bolton Wanderers' strategy was to pin down to Gerrard and Muamba was doing a pretty good job at it,shadowing Steve Gee wherever he went. Bolton got two excellent chances in the first half,one coming from Cohen who couldn't put the ball past Reina. Thanks to ever-dependable Carragher who didn't give Cohen enough room to take the shot properly. The next brilliant chance came from Chung Yung Lee who did a neat work of getting past the Liverpool centre backs and also around the Liverpool Goalie but last minute brilliant work by Krygiakos saved Liverpool from the agony of trailing Bolton at Anfield.Liverpool was fierce in their approach whenever they came cloe to scoring but lacked the killer touch. Some brilliant moves by Gerrard were blocked off by Zat Knight, Kuyt was just a yard away from converting Insua's cross into a goal. Liverpool found themselves ahead just minutes before the first half ended- Courtesy The Dutchman: Kuyt. Even though the goal was scrappy it was enough to bolster Liverpool's confidence. Bolton's defender Steinsson could have cleared the ball off the goal line but the ball some how found its way back into the net.
A one goal lead always causes anxiety for the team who scored it. Liverpool could have sealed the game early in the second half when Ngog missed a lollypop chance from six yards, the ball bouncing off the goal post. Bolton didn't threaten Liverpool much in the second half. This forced the Bolton manager to bring in Ricardo Gardner, Weiss and Elmandor to step up the Bolton attack.
Insua's shot was deflected off Kevin Davies before rolling past Jaskeleinen for a second Liverpool goal. Rafa could now breathe easily given that Liverpool will not commit silly mistakes to refrain them from claiming all three points.
Even though Liverpool came out victorious they lacked the ability to finish Bolton off. Liverpool could easily have scored four to five goals, given the amount of chances they had in the match. Liverpool now sits fifth in the table with 41 points just one point behind Tottenham Hotspurs. Aston Villa is on 40 with a game in hand and Man City are with 38 points with three games in hand.
If Liverpool fail to qualify for Europe next year the club's financial situation may be in jeopardy and this could mean many of the top players might leave Anfield. Now that Liverpool has won three of their home games in a row their confidence is high and hope that they take their good form in the remaining games.
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