Fresh signings Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam got on the scoreboard as Liverpool dominated a defensively weak Bolton Wanderers, winning the tie 3-1 at the Anfield, which takes them to the top of the table for the moment. Martin Skrtel headed the other goal for Liverpool as Ivan Klasnic capitalised on a last minute error from Liverpool captain Carragher to score a pointless goal for Bolton.
Dominant display sees Liverpool go top
Liverpool started off looking lively, Luis Suarez setting the pace as usual. Manager Dalglish decided to go ahead with Dirk Kuyt, with the giant Andy Carroll deemed to warm the bench. This proved to be an intelligent tactic as Liverpool looked more compact and potent in the attacking third.
Suarez, switching positions with Downing on the left flan sent in a beautiful cross for Downing, who managed to get a good shot on goal but goalie Jaaskelainen managed to get a hand on it. The rebound was collected by Kuyt and he passed it to Henderson, who converted it beautifully with his weaker left foot in only the 15th minute.
From then on, Liverpool were in complete command of the game. Luis Suarez was left with only the goalkeeper to beat, but the Uruguayan chipped the ball over the post. Dirk Kuyt almost managed to double the lead when he was just fractions away from a Henderson corner.
Bolton manager Owen Coyle was forced to make a change only after 2 minutes, taking off Muamba for the more flexible and impressive Mark Davies. But this change couldn’t turn the tide for Bolton. Martin Kelly was also taken off after pulling his hamstring which had side-lined him for 6 months. Martin Skrtel made his first appearance of the season, replacing Kelly.
Soon after the break, Liverpool finally managed to double their lead. Skrtel guided home a strong header from a Charlie Adam corner in the 52nd minute. Barely a minute later, Kuyt found Adam in space and the Scotsman fired home the third goal of the evening with a shot from his right foot.
Stewart Downing and Suarez managed to flabbergast the Bolton defence, combining and linking perfectly. Suarez also had two good penalty shouts turned down. Suarez was taken off for Carroll and Henderson came off for Maxi Rodriguez.
Suarez looked frustrated at not getting on the scoreboard – if he had, he would’ve become the first Liverpool player after Robbie Fowler to score a goal in the first three EPL games – but was vital in the Liverpool attack.
In the 2 minute of added time, Carragher made a mistake, handing the ball to Petrov. He did well to recover it, but the ball rolled to the in-form Klasnic, who shot the ball into the net. But it proved to be pointless and meaningless for Bolton, who looked very different from the side which gave Manchester City a lot of problems only a week ago.
King Kenny will be happy about the team’s performance, though the score line could easily have been 6 – 0. Liverpool fans will only be imagining the heights which their team will scale once injured Captain Steven Gerrard is back for them.
Tags: Charlie Adam, EPL, Football, Jordan Henderson, Liverpool, Premier League
